A HIGH-PRICED ARM.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19217, 5 January 1926, Page 12

A HIGH-PRICED ARM.

FOOTBALL TRAINER'S LOSS. HEAVY DAMAGES AWARDED. CHARABANC ACCIDENT SEQUEL. In the King's Bench Division, London, recently, before Mr. Justice Horridge and a special jury, Mr. Elijah Morse, formerly trainer to the Fujham Football Club, was awarded £1535 15s damages from Messrs. Thomas Tilling and Company, omnibus owners, for personal injuries which were received by him on October 27, 1924, when an accident occurred to a charabanc in' which Mr. Morse and members of, tho Fulham team were being driven to play a match in North London with another London team. Mr. Thorn Drury, K.C., for Mr. Morse, said the charabanc was driving along Woodlawn Road toward Hammersmith when a lorry came out from a side turning, and in avoiding this the charabanc overturned. Mr. Morse was thrown out, and his left arm was caught underneath tho vehicle. The arm had to be amputated at the shoulder. Afterwards the wound in the arm again became affected, and another operation was necessary, but eventually he was discharged from hospital. He was now a completely changed man, and had been unable to do work of any description since. His wages with the Fulham Football Club were £5 10s a week, and that was paid until December 5, 1924. He estimated his loss by way of special damages at £385 15s. Giving evidence, Mr. Morse said he was now 53 years of age. For a number of years he had been a professional trainer to the city police force, and had trained the Olympic Games tug-of-war team in 1908, when the City of London police were champions of the world. For a time he was trainer for the Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, and during his services they wero promoted from the second division to the first. He was appointed trainer to the Fulham club in 1922-3. In reply to the Judge, he said he was in receipt of a police pension of £3 10s a week. Mr. Doughty, K.C., for the Omnibus Company, suggested to Mr. Morse that he would not have the slightest difficulty in finding a suitable club to which he could give the benefit of his great experience as a trainer. Mr. Morse said he was afraid that he would never get another trainer'n position. Mr. Andrew Ducat, the international footballer and manager of the Fulham Football Club, said that Mr. Morse was a very satisfactory trainer in every way. In cross-examination he agreed that strength of character was one _of the essentials in a good trainer. This, however, was not the only qualification required; these were not a few. Mr. Morse's name as a trainer would add prestige to any second division club, but he did not think there was- much chance of any club engaging him. Mr. Morse was no longer any good as a trainer as he was unable to massage. Mr. Doughty said that the Omnibus Company did hot dispute liability. They were contesting only the question of damages. The jury found for Mr. Morse for a total of £1535 15s, and judgment was entered accordingly, with costs.