Smith v. Johnson
| Decision Date | 24 October 1914 |
| Citation | 219 Mass. 142,106 N.E. 604 |
| Parties | SMITH v. JOHNSON et al. |
| Court | United States State Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts Supreme Court |
Loring, Coolidge & Noble, of Boston, for plaintiff.
Dickson & Knowles, of Boston, for defendants.
DE COURCY, J.
The forefinger of the plaintiff's left hand was crushed by a swinging door at the entrance to the retail dry goods store of the defendants. This was the center one of three single doors between the vestibule and the store, was made of plate glass with a border of wood at the top, bottom and sides, and was about 7 feet high, 2 1/2 feet wide and 3 inches thick. The hinges were of a type that permitted it to be pushed open in either direction.
As the plaintiff was about to go from the vestibule into the store another person passed ahead of her and pushed the door open. As it swung back she put up her hand to shield her head and glasses, and apparently allowed her forefinger to project beyond the edge of the door, so that it was caught between the edge and the door frame.
We are of opinion that the record discloses no negligence on the part of the defendants. The doors, as described by the testimony and shown by the photographs, were of ordinary construction, and were substantially like those in general and common use for many years in Boston and elsewhere. There was nothing to show that they were not entirely safe when properly used by persons passing through them. If, as the plaintiff's somewhat confused testimony indicates, the ordinary speed of the door was increased by another customer negligently pushing in the opposite direction, the defendants are not responsible therefor. And assuming in the plaintiff's favor that there was only the usual recoil of the door, the failure to furnish doorkeepers or attendants in no way contributed to the accident. It appears that there was no pushing or jostling by the crowd of Christmas shoppers. In short, the evidence fails to disclose the breach of any legal duty which the defendants owed to the plaintiff. Hunnewell v. Haskell, 174 Mass. 557, 55 N.E. 320; Lord v. Sherer Dry Goods Co., 205 Mass. 1, 90 N.E 1153, 27 L. R. A. (N. S.) 232, 137 Am. St. Rep. 420, 18 Ann Cas. 41; Dolan v. Callender, McAuslan & Troup Co., 26 R.I. 198, 58 A. 655; Pardington v. Abraham, 93 A.D. 359, 87 N.Y.S. 670, affirmed 183 N.Y. 553, 76 N.E. 1102.
The plaintiff's testimony leaves largely to conjecture the explanation of how her finger...
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