PEDESTRIAN INJURED

Evening Star, Issue 22031, 17 May 1935, Page 2

PEDESTRIAN INJURED

CLAIM FOR DAMAGES FAILS TAXI DRIVER CLEARED Damages amounting to £262 4s wer# claimed from the Gold Band Taxi Company Ltd. in the Magistrate’s Court yesterday afternoon by Georgina Deans, an elderly woman, who spent ’ six months'in hospital last year as the result of being struck by a Gold Band w« the* footpath, wnen 1 coining out ’of garage ip Moray placo®Evidence was brought, however, to Mow that the plaintiff had actually walked into the side of the car, which was moving slowly across the footpath, and judgment was given for the defendant company. ' Mr G. T. Bayiee appeared for the plaintiff, the defendant company being represented by Mr J. S. Sinclair. The plaintiff claimed that the accident was due to the negligence of the defendants, as the car which knocked her over was backed out across too footpath at an excessive speed, and the driver, who had not sounded his horn, ; was not in a position to have full control of the car. He had also not maintained a proper look-out. As the result of the accident the plaintiff had suffered an intra capsular fracture of the right femur and had also suffered severely from shock. Consequently she had been in the hospital from May 18 to November 19, at a cost of £ll2 4s, That sum was claimed as special ■ damages, and the sum of £l5O was claimed as general damages. Mr Bylee said the accident occurred about 8 o’clock on the evening of May 16 last. The plaintiff was walking down Moray place from the Library, and Just as she came to the place where the Gold Band cars came up the ramp from the company’s garage she stopped. She then remembered no more until she found herself lying on the pavement. It was admitted that it was one of the Gold Band cars that struck her, and he claimed that the onus was on the defendant company to show that there was no negligence. In her evidence the plaintiff said she was thinking of the possibility of a car coming across the footpath as she approached the spot, but was not aware that there actually was a car coming out until she was struck. Had she looked towards the garage she might have seen it. However, no horn was sounded, and it was not possible to see a car coming out until right on the spot where’it emerged on to the footpath. Mr Sinclair moved for a non-suit. There was really no case, he said, and the plaintiff obviously knew nothing about it. She had admitted that she did not see the car and did hot look out for it. The accident was due ta her own negligence. The magistrate refused to grant tha non-suit. He was not prepared, ha said, to dispose of the case on tha evidence before him.

The driver of Hie car, Harold Patterson, said that when backing out of the garage on that occasion he continuously blew the horn and stopped when the rear of his car came level with the footpath. He then looked to right and left, sounded his horn again, and continued on at a crawling pace. He did not see the plaintiff, but heard an exclamation and stopped immediately, with the rear carrier of his car about a foot from the edge of the kerb. Afterwards he found a smudge on his rear left-hand mudguard, where the plaintiff had evidently walked into the car. Evidence concerning the plaintiff’* injuries was given by J. Renfrew White, honorary surgeon at the Dunedin Hospital, who said the plaintiff had not suffered permanent severe disability as the result of the accident. Oswald Jarrett, an eye-witness of the occurrence, said that he saw the plaintiff walk into the side of the car near the rear left wheel. Similar evidence was given by Susan M'Gill. The explanation of the accident had been supplied by the plaintiff herself* said the magistrate when delivering judgment. She could not have been looking at the time, and seemed to bava been quite absent-minded. It was obvious that she had walked into the side of the car, so that the driver was not in any way to blame. Judgment must be given for the defendant company* .Cogt* were not asked |or.