Negligence — Possessors of land — Condition — Sidewalk — Sufficiency of defect — Question of fact.
1. In this action of trespass in which it appeared that as plaintiff was walking through the Philadelphia City Hall courtyard her heel caught in a piece of irregular, broken cement, which was about one-half inch deep, twenty-eight inches long and varying in width from several inches to about one foot, it was Held, in the circumstances, that this defect was sufficient to establish the negligence of the City.
2. What constitutes a defect in a sidewalk sufficient to subject the possessor of land to liability must be determined in the light of the circumstances of the particular case, and, except where the defect is obviously trivial, that question must be submitted to the fact finder.
3. No definite or mathematical rule can be laid down as to the depth or size of the sidewalk depression necessary to convict a possessor of land of negligence in permitting its continued existence.
Appeals — Review — Verdicts — Inadequacy — $16,000.
4. Where the unmarried plaintiff, 61, suffered an intertrochanteric fracture of the right hip, was completely disabled from working for six months but made an excellent post-operative recovery and had special damages (including $5,000 of lost wages) of $8,000 and the court, as fact finder, rejected plaintiff's claim that retirement four months after work was necessitated by her injuries and found that it was the result of the inconvenience of continuing with her job and rejected a claim for loss of future earnings, but allowed $8,000 for pain and suffering, making a total verdict of $16,000, it was Held that this verdict was not so inadequate as to require a new trial.
Mr. Chief Justice BELL dissented and would grant a judgment n.o.v.
Mr. Justice MUSMANNO dissented and would order a new trial limited to damages alone.
OPINION PER CURIAM, May 21, 1968:
Judgment affirmed on the opinion of President Judge JAMIESON, as reported in 44 Pa. D. C.2d 636.
Mr. Chief Justice BELL dissents and would grant a judgment n.o.v.
Mr. Justice MUSMANNO dissents and would order a new trial limited to damages alone.