Vaegemast v. Hess
| Decision Date | 01 July 1938 |
| Docket Number | 31777. |
| Citation | 280 N.W. 641,203 Minn. 207 |
| Parties | VAEGEMAST v. HESS. |
| Court | Minnesota Supreme Court |
Appeal from District Court, Stearns County; Byron R. Wilson, Judge.
Action by J. J. Vaegemast, special administrator of the estate of Alma L. Hess, deceased, against the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States to recover on two life policies wherein Orlin Hess, special administrator of the estate of Deloss Hess, deceased, was substituted as defendant for the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States. Judgment for plaintiff, and the defendant appeals.
Affirmed.
Syllabus by the Court .
1. In a case where a husband and wife were killed in the same automobile accident the record sustains the trial court's findings that the wife survived her husband by an appreciable length of time.
2. The trial court's rulings sustaining the plaintiff's objections to inquiries addressed to the defendant's experts as to which person died more rapidly after receiving his or her injuries is held to be without prejudice to the defendant.
Atwood & Quinlivan, of St. Cloud, for appellant.
Phillips & Sherwood, of St. Cloud, and Charles L. Clark, of Park Rapids, for respondent.
Alma L. Hess and her husband Deloss Hess were killed in the same automobile accident on August 21, 1936. Deloss was insured in the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States by two policies in the aggregate sum of $16,052, Alma being named as beneficiary in both policies. The special administrator of her estate claimed that she survived her husband an appreciable length of time and brought suit against the Equitable to recover the insurance provided for in the two policies. The Equitable paid the money into court setting forth that Orlin Hess, as special administrator of the estate of Deloss Hess, claimed the proceeds of these policies. Thereupon the special administrator of the estate of Deloss Hess was substituted for the Equitable and the case proceeded upon the issue between the two special administrators. It was tried by the court without a jury and findings of fact, conclusions of law and order for judgment were made in favor of plaintiff. The case comes here upon appeal from the judgment entered pursuant to the order. The challenge is to the finding that Alma survived her husband by an appreciable length of time and to the court's rulings in sustaining objections to questions asked of the defendant's medical witnesses as to the relative rapidity of the death of the husband and wife after the accident.
1. At the time of their death Deloss Hess was 27 years of age, his wife was 31, and both were in good health. About three o'clock of the afternoon of August 21, 1936 Deloss was driving his two passenger automobile in a general easterly direction on a public highway between Starbuck and Glenwood, Minnesota. His wife was sitting beside him on his right. At a point about 7 miles west of Glenwood where the highway crosses the Northern Pacific railroad tracks at an angle of about 45 degrees the automobile was struck on its left side at about the door by a west bound gas-electric passenger train traveling at an estimated speed of 30 miles an hour. The collision broke the air line on the train with the result that the brakes which were set just before the impact could not be released and the train came to a stop with its front end about 850 feet west of the center of the crossing. The automobile was impaled on the coupler which extended about 2 feet ahead of the gas-electric car. The automobile was carried along upon the front end of the train to the point where it stopped. Deloss was pinned between the left door and the steering wheel. His wife was thrown out through the right door upon the railroad track, run over by the train and terribly mangled.
In considering the question of survival we must take the testimony in its most favorable aspect to the plaintiff, since the trial court found that Mrs. Hess survived her husband by an appreciable length of time. Deloss Hess suffered a complete dislocation of the articulation between the skull and atlas bone at the instant of impact the longitudinal muscles maintaining the relationship were torn and lacerated; the spinal cord was completely severed between the base of...
To continue reading
Request your trial