Pastrick v. S. S. Kresge Co.
| Decision Date | 24 October 1934 |
| Parties | MAE A. PASTRICK v. S. S. KRESGE COMPANY. FRANK PASTRICK v. SAME. |
| Court | United States State Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts Supreme Court |
September 19, 1934.
Present: RUGG, C.
J., CROSBY, PIERCE FIELD, & LUMMUS, JJ.
Negligence, Of proprietor of store, Of one owning or controlling real estate. Practice, Civil, Exceptions: whether error harmful.
At the hearing of an action for personal injuries sustained by a woman in a fall upon a stairway in the defendant's store, it was undisputed that the treads of the stairway were about thirteen inches wide and the risers about seven and one half inches high; that at the edge of each tread was a metal strip three inches wide, composed of alternate trenches and grooves running across the tread parallel with the edge; that the trenches were one half inch wide and were filled with abrasive; that the grooves were one quarter inch wide and were hollowed out to a depth of three sixteenths of an inch that the surface of the treads was flat except for the grooves; that, aside from the manner in which the stairway was constructed, it was not defective; that it was well lighted and was equipped with hand rails; and that there was no foreign substance on it at the time of the plaintiff's fall. Held, that a finding was required as a matter of law that the defendant was not negligent with respect to the manner in which the stairway was constructed.
In the circumstances above described, the plaintiff would not have been aided by the admission of evidence that the defendant's manager was of opinion that the stairway was dangerous to women, had so reported to the defendant and had known of the falling of many women on the stairway, nor would she have been aided by the giving of certain rulings requested by her; and her exceptions to the exclusion of such evidence and to the refusal of the rulings were overruled.
TWO ACTIONS OF TORT. Writs dated January 6, 1930 [sic], and April 18, 1932 respectively.
The actions were heard together in the Superior Court by W. A. Burns, J without a jury. Material evidence is stated in the opinion. The judge found for the defendant in each action. The plaintiffs alleged exceptions.
C. R. Clason, for the plaintiffs. E. Hutchings, for the defendant.
These actions, one by a woman for bodily injuries, and the other by her husband for consequential damages, arise out of a fall sustained by the former while walking down a stairway in a retail store of the defendant. Hearing the cases without jury, the judge found for the defendant. The plaintiffs alleged exceptions.
Each step was equipped with the so called Mason safety tread, a metal strip three inches wide. This strip was composed of alternate trenches and grooves running across the tread of the step, near to and parallel with the edge, the trenches being one half inch wide and filled with an abrasive to prevent slipping, and the grooves being one quarter inch wide and hollowed out to a depth of three sixteenths of an inch for the purpose of catching small articles that might cause a rolling of the foot. The surface of the tread was flat except for these small grooves. Unless the plan of the stairway and of the Mason safety tread constituted a defect, the stairway was safe. It was well lighted, it was equipped with hand rails on the sides and in the middle, there was a sign "Watch Step" in a conspicuous position above the stairway, there was no foreign substance on the steps, and they were not worn to any appreciable extent.
There was evidence for the plaintiffs that the treads were approximately twelve and seven eighths inches wide, and that the risers were approximately seven and one half inches high. An expert witness for the plaintiffs testified that such steps were "not a good form of construction" for a stairway for the use of customers in a retail store, and that according to "the usual practice of almost all architects" the sum of the width of the tread and the height of the riser should not exceed seventeen and one half inches. He testified that the larger sum of the width and height in the stairway in question gave "an...
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