The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1869-08-21 00:00:00

ACTION AGAINST & RAILWAY
COMPANY. —DAMAGES, £250.
ave of " Clarke v. the Solitdollas•ern Railway
lbs" has been tiled at the eloydon Ass4es
C,opt
'il...tiff in this cwt.-, vehoolmotter, couplaihel
be I Visa about to enter a carriage of the con,-
was struck by the door and injured, through
,loseness of tine fff their servants.
the c
"'se pionti„ ;
o, we. di a young man, was before the
within acttee and athletic, had a wife and funnily, and
:
tint of £l3O vear ; and he increased his income
IPW'' • 11 into the country asa collector.
a'
ring occarmina y
l December last he was on the platform at
Cbiteltiurst etation, abitut to enter the carriage,
be the guard came along, and ea, ins' out, "Next
Sir," shut the door sharply, which
the plaintiff on the head, and, ail he
strw,
.0. caused the injuries complained. At first he dint
s t think the injuries serious, and shortly afterwards
b°B went to the London Station to complain, and ease
aril who at first denied it and then said it was
the gU
the plidutiff s own fault. The plaintiff delivered to
letter of complaint stating that he was still
arrulg frdn the pain the blow had caused, and
fir an ti polozy. In January he had an
Oslv asking
front Mr. Ehorall, stating that he could not
ts—,,Trthe matter to any one. According to his ac-
count the effects of the blow bee ime more eerione, and
bsd not yet disappeared. lii fact, his caste was that
be had sustained a coucussion of the brain, and had
been inapacitated from the discharge of his duties
either as a schoohuaster or collector, anti, indeed,
„cording to his cane, he was not likely to recover for
two or three years.
The us Miff WAS examined in Rapport of his cape, and &c-
-ooing to bisevideei r the emit mid tne him were almost at
the fame mom-tit ;So that the guard noet have shut the /1110 r
he spite. The t laditiff :Ail lie remonefraved with the
peel , who made no repiv. lie could hot :ay ehi th.- guard
twiteld ttin sp. into the rare age 't he ilos was on
the bmple. ori the smile of his head The blow wits. he .01,
on gni, Mg in London he akain r.motiktrated alth
gut his .5,00. When he got helm he felt
the Oar% a"
direr, aid bad no sleep at bight, aid next m rid g was un-
able attend to his duties, ,nor to resume tie on after
the item. of several ders. For mare than • forthight
be could net g-t sip tin fdl late in the. day, and the re-
sult bad been as above stated lhe expenees, he
osi, had been VS, litit he could not say that he had
stony loit any of his salary, because the trustees of
ibe school hail been kind enough to costume him for the
present notwithiv ending his deficiencies. This, howe. er,
was their iiidulgetice, and he had lost somerhat in the Way
of onnnthision On lan eolleetiona In cro.s.examination he
said he hail a hat on at the time—a a ideawake. lie said
that the door struck him as hts tiont was actually 1111 the stop
el the cartage, and it struck him on the shoulder sail en.
hoe but the full force of the blew fell 011 his head asked
to show where the blow was, it appeared that it was where
the hat would he, and he admitted that it was partly so,
Frewed as to whether there was any bruise or mark, be ad-
ulated there was th.t. It sheikh], however. be it .ted ihxt
Ins countenance and complexion, anti the dead look of his
eyes, betokened the present's id 5 mme e nose of
whatever it might he. and elicited several questions from the
jury no the witnesses who hail known or seen him.
The plaintiff's wife gave confirmatory evidence, and ob-
served she saw a slight swelling on the side of the heal.
A cleigyman who had known him for 13 years gore evi-
dente into Ids diminished physical anti mental ellerey,
us I
uncertainty of tread. ite. This wittiete was &eked my the
raywhether the pleintiff ,w hose worn an I etifeetdsu ik,„k
s been mentioned) had at all altered in appearance since
the accident and lie said he had very greatly altered ; lie
ivied to have a full, fresh face, whereas now it certainly
shored great feebleness.
me medic kl attendant, (Mr Edmunds.) Salient opinion that
he had suffered a concussion of the brain, mid that there
was a- me slow mischief going en in the hruin. Ile was filo,
of opinion that lie required total real, said that his depend-
ekes on salon retarded his recovery. Those, he stated, who
hal snstaine I concussions on the brain were never the same,
sni its • Recta were very uncertain Ile should say that
551
about three tears he nutria recover, provided he bad some
mouths' entire relazatein, and atterwards mere routine and
esay employment. But lie doubeed it he wrield ever en, irely
rec .rer the tone of his mind or be tined for much mental t
scion In cross examination the wittiest. admitted, hoa ever
that there was a vast number nit c .sis in which concussion
of the brain eccurred without whine consequeuces There
howevir here, Inc thought, very likely ati injury to the
bone, or nervous tissue under the bone, which might here-
sifter come Pei Mils conSeglienCeS, and he also thought there
might he insipient softening of the brain
It at:leafed that in Julie last, the punt ft had sent in a
claim dating that, he had lint half a year. n salary throueh his
beim, unable to attend to lain duties
Ur Serjeaut Ballantine, on the part of the company, de-
claw% that they had been ieduceil tin defend the eel. /NM
the persuasiou that the care, It not en n ntire fabrication, was
based on gross misreprekentatiou, and that the Owneiff was
not suffering from any it Pay sustamed oil this occasi,n.
Be dwelt cod deal on what he called the utter mittu
fulness of the plaintiff's claim, seethe that he had not log a
*Melee of salary Tints, he urged. Wan of itself st,fficient to
jaw' r distrust of the case, as it showed a spitit of fattish...l.
The fact was that it Was alni..lt imp...side for ao)ene
to
InotP, e emit at, occurrence as a lanai on tee baek of tee
heal from allotting a door upon a per ou who. whole hody
was interposed, and must twee:4.oly receive the blow
Such a blow, Le urged, most on the head he f erremely
slight, and he relied upon the fact that the plenty if at first
hail mint dameges at all, line lea tmunh WAS that.
there was an tv protected female in the carriage who de-
sired to tr., el wane, and this led the guard to preveut the
plaintiff front emeritig the carriage hut there was no biow
on the head iyflictecl, and nothing that could hove canard
the injury suggested, so that the plaintiff's symptoms must
have arisen from sines other cause.
The guard was called to support this defence, and denied
that the plaintiff was s luck on tine lead with the door. It
Was impossible that he sttouid be struck in such a position,
as he was merely standing on the pletform, nor did he com-
plain at the time. But on getting to I. imlon the piaintiff
maid," Do you know you struck toy head ?" to which witness
replied, "If I did I am sorry, butt don't believe 1 did."
Yething more pasted between them.
In cross examination the witnes wag asked if be had ap-
pealed to the laiiy age', st the plaintiff's complaint and he
said he had n.it A fellow pas-enger of the plaintiff WWI
called to show that he hal wade no complaint at the time,
auti he confirmed the guard's accoont as to what occurred
on the occasion of the seh.equent complaint.
Nir Adana, the eminent sun ge ..... who had so often given
evidence in railway cases and who had jitst retired trim the
post of senior surgeon of the Loudon ilespital mei is now
consutthig urgeon—was then celled on the part of the com-
pany, and stated that supposing a coneuesion of the bri . i ...
the symptoms were Ims ot consciousness (niore or les- com-
plete) and toubtlity to move, and s-anetinies to see or bear.
There was no actual limit to the time of the appeerines
nI
these fomptonis, hut he should say ten days or a fortnight.
Raving heard all the evidence in this care, and having
examined hem aintite he wsa clearly of OpilkiOn that there
was no itijery to the bone and no softening of the twain
There was nothing radically the flitter with brain or Niue
—that le, no miriade disease of either. Inn creams-examination.
be 'admitted that he was the Collanthinit s,nrgeoin ni the
ci trouty. Ile said he had area the plaintiff for twenty
rue ietes. He hail vet he said, seen eoiteltitig of the
brain as the result of an acjdeut, but he admitted that
toiteuiug et the braiu !night come on a coneiderable time
aft, a concussion—pet haps as Iota; as one or two years,
although such a case had hot arisen is his experience
Softening of the brain, he raid, was a vet y rare thing.
lie hsd ...t sees a striate instance of it as the reetilt
of a railway aciniteut. But again, he admitted that isease
of the meumbrain of the brain rMght he going on as
long as pain existed, tad he found from what the plaintiff
said that he still hail pain. In re-examination he said tie
had never met with softening of the brain except as the re-
sult of Intl immatii.n, of which there was no symptom here
ile iiaii tio cases a year at the Louden Hospital of coneussion
of the Main, end no case of eofteoing of the brain. Beim;
asked by the jury. Inc amd that there were, at an early stage,
even eymnptanue of softening of the brain which would reveal
It In auswer to the Lord Chief Barn, be flat I there might
be disease o the stifle, and beteg asked, takiug all the piein-
tiffai evidence, assmnieg it true. how long a thile the pl dmitiff's
recovery would take, he 'aid seven or eight °meths. provided
there wee an abitinetme from exertion and entire re ',Whim
couclusiou, he said that such a blow as had beeti described
might cause such an injury.
Mr. Gros (lark, surgeon, gave similar evidence, and
said he should trot promulice the plaintiff ill from his presetit
appeamtice alone, thoueb, c .ntrasting him with his previous
condition of health and stiength (taking Ms own account of
it, he should think there Wit* disease. There was, however, I
5.. evid.nce of disease apart from his own statements, and
Inc found no ohjec.ive s.nnptO,ni of disease in bone or brain.
In cross examivation, he exidained that he meant external
Signs, or appearances or symptoms apart f rom the p nt's own
stdemeuts. And he agreed with Mr AdarilS as to the posd-
hility of di.ease from such a blow. The fee that the plaintiff
weggettilig better was, he said incomistent with the eats mice
of organic dimes° ; nor did he believe there was any such
disease softening of the bruit., he said, never existed in
Young persons without decided symptoms. And so as to
disease id the train, there would he material iliterference
with cerebral functions, and tar greater seesitiveuess than
appeared mu this cage to exist. But, in answer 'ep the Lnril
Chief Baron, he maid that ohnase of the In me or brain might
after an interval of mouths, arim from finch a blow ass as here
stated, hut them would firm, be meat lamps and iiitense
tee derness of the epos Being pressed by the Levi Chief B son
as to whek•er diminished e. erey of body amid mind might not
be a symptom of such a diseme, he said it µsandy might hose,
but had not been so In his t Speriellee. Inn answer to goes-
lions from the jury, the e bless said inn Should not, num
the mere examination of the plaintiff amine—not having
herd of any blow—have wpm:omit that theme was anything
the matter wtth him beyond this, that he was an over-
worked denizen of this crowded city. Being asked there-
upon how he could account for the continuance of pain, he
sabi he could not account for it.
This was the whole of the evidence, upon which, after a
speech tram Mr. emjeant Bellantine, in which he rather
ritilculed the cane,
Sir. St Chambers made an energetic reply on the part of
the plaintiff, denounchig the company for an attempt to es-
cape tile mainequences of an it jury my bleating the charaMer
of the sufferer as kin impister. The case ler the defence In
substance came to this, that the pleintiff had inveuted the
h.jely be complained of. Ott the contrary, it was, he in-
slated, the net.oe which had been trumped up, anti was
feuded upon falsehoods of the retard. It was absurd to
pmend that each • blew could not he infl cted in such a
Way, and the niedical witnesses for the couopany admitted
that such Nut-lea might Inc the result of finch a °low. Unless
the plaintitt was mitirely fabrieating the case, he hail re-
ceived ill 11 a low, and the evidence of the guard himself
showed that it was not an entire fabrication. tor the plaintiff
cimplained ot it Imost immediately afterwards, .d It WWI
maintest from the guard's own account that such a blow
might hove been infiicted.
The Lord Chief Baron, in Bumming up the case to the Jury,
said the question was the Mike in this tia in so many similar I
cases, unhappily, at theso assiz-s—tiamely whether the
hijury compiauted of had been and was cautod by the neg-
ligeece ot the company. According to the owe for the plain-
tiff, the guard slauinoed the door sharply white he was in the
aet of speakieg It that were so it would lie a wade of time
to comider whether the company were Halite, as of curse
they would he; for the servants of the company could not
be justified in so acting The case, however, was met n the
pant of the twiny by a direct denial. They denied,
indeed, the possibilii yof such a nIOW inn such way. Ix was
for the jar) to judge upon that poi. C; but all he could say
was that he should be very sorry for the experiment to be
tried in his person. It seemed to him that the effect of
slammin a the oloor on a person in such a positiOli ruled Inc
to ittict sitCh a blow. But of thin the jury must judge. He
bed I ad a very long experience—perh .ps longer than that of
any Leine m owes of this claw--that is, railway acci-
dents—and he had never until now knowu a case in which a.
per•on in a respectable position and • d a Inspectable character
had wholly invented eltch a claim. If the ea. for the def..
was welliounded, the planitaff must have not only male
a deliberate I ahrication of hie a my, but he must nave
sueported it by the most systematic hypocrisy, and finally
by the mist pereistent perjury. On the other hand, at die
moment he did not, very probably, imagine the iujury
serious. That would e telly account tor the absence ot
amny
serener complaint at the moment. But if the cage was
fabricated he must have gone home quite uniejured, and
have eime through the mockery of a pretended illness—
all this is enticed with his wife, who supported him. So
that it must he supposed that there was a couspiracy between
them, amid not only so, but he must have maneged to deceive
all his friends and relati. .ns, and even to deceive an expe-
rieticed medical man. Such things might be possible, but
It wus tor the jury to judge. In the story of the plaintiff
there was nothing at all imprebableor unlikely ; on the con-
trary, it was qua.° us accordance with what ohe ,onetatitly
oh.erved On railway platforms—the guards runuing alining
hastily, and sianimiug the doom as they passed along. Curler
such circumstances, such an accident might easily occur. Al
to the plainoff's claim of damage's, it was drawn up by his
attorney, anti Inc maid ea.lly have supposed that the trustees
would deduct his salary 011 account of his didicien cies of twe-
et.. It seemed rather hard to reline-slit this sea frauduleet
claim. The main question however, as to damage &petaled
upon the evidence of the medical men. Coupling that with
the evidelice id the relatives, it was clear that the plaiiitiff
had gist aineil a cousiderable ildury from genie cause; and
the medical roes admitted that such hijuries might m-
eta (Toni such in blow. There al'emed to have been a great
loss of physical and mental energy, and this would be • just
claim tor compennation. In s. cit • case, where there WAS
any difference of opinion between medical men, It was well
to see how far they were agreed, and the company's medical
gramma adiatteed Pat, aaaungatt all the plalatiNttated to

in Lille it might lisle retinueu nom such a o .usta. lie 111,1
i.e.fli the. etore, chit there wts ally very ,uls•wdisl
11.fferao,e 1w- ween then. and if there et re probably they
would give tn. r p eference ni the Opinion 4,t the medical
mat who Mut a.teioled the plaintiff for months, rather than
to thAte who hail only seen idm fr tat-au.hour. It was,
it tippets, of, quite missib.e that there might be if crane
of Cie bone or 01 toe Main, anti the mere possibility
was not to be dised•sed from comiderattou in the estimate
of damages. If it should turn cut to he a certainty
the jury c uld give nut further compensation. flu, even
argil Lr•tni lit tt, the tardiest whiteners f.d. the 00111-
. patty admitted titat tl.n plaint if required seven or e.ght
months' retirement and recreation. stet there was the risk of
his losing his emploj meat AU these risks must be con-
sidered thing with the positive injury he had already suffered
for several months "I.tking ail the cleunalances into con-
sideration, sad it eluding the expenses of medical attend-
..,.co , the jmy must sanest the damages ta the best way they
could.
The jury, after a brief consultation, gave s verdict
for the plaintiff for £250.