Star.
London, England, 1825-03-03 00:00:00

•
LAW REPORT.

COURT OP COMMON PLEAS, MARCH 1.

MORGAN V. LAMERRT.
Mr. Serjeant Pat.r. stated this to be an action of a
most distressing nature, brought by the plaintiff, a little
girl of nine years old, who appeared in Cart by her
next of kin, to recover a compensation in damages for
a very serious injury she sustained, through thenegli-
gent conduct of the defendant's coachman, who drove
his coach over her thigh, which was thereby fractured
and bruised in a most melancholy manner. The de-
fendant is the proprietor of one of the Poplar stages,
plying from London to that place daily. The plaintiff
is a little girl only nine years of age, .residing in Ber-
ners-street, Commercial-road. About five o'clock in the
afternoon of the 20th of July last, a montk.when the
light is powerful at that hour, this littlesgirl and a COM•
pinion of her's of the same age, were returning from
school, from a street directly opposite Berners-street.
Whilst they were crossing the Commerciabroad, the
defendant's coach, driven by his regular coachman
he should not say as a furious rate, but fast, at taeir
usual rate, being drawn by two powerful horses, came'
by at the time, and came in direct contact with the chile
dren, and knocked them down. His little client was
thrown under the wheel, which went over her thigh ;
and whether the coachman, in pulling up his horses to
prevent any further injury, backed his coach, but so it
was, that the wheel went a second tune over her thigh,
and thus it was that she sustained this very serious in-
jury, which had left a. mark that she would carry to
her grave. The coachman had left his right side of
the road at the time, and it would perhaps be urged on
the other side, that he was obligei to take that side of
the road in consequence of a sewer, which had been
opened on his right side of the road, and that in order
to pass with safety, he was obliged to abandon that side
of the road,cross the middle of the road which is paved,
and generally occupied by the waggons and heavy carts
which often pass, and get on his left side of the road
but the place where the accident happened was at a dis-
tance of eighty-six feet from the sewer, so that he had
sufficient room to regain his right side of the road.—
Persons cried out to the coachman to pull up, which it
was his bounden duty to do, as perhaps he thought
they would have had time to have crossed before he
came up. He neglected to do so, and the melancholy
accident he had detailed to them followed. She was
taken home, and surgical aid procured. The thigh was
fractured, and she, underwent great suffering for some
time, and up to the present time has not recovered from
it, as the leg in question has become shorter from the
accident. The other child was picked up from under
the horses feet not injured. He did not mean to attri-
bute any intentional cruelty to the coachman, for he
could not suppose any one so inhuman as to run down
two children wilfully ; but he had to make out his case
to them by chewing that the coachman drove carelessly
and incautiously.
The Learned Serjeant then called several witnesses, who corro-
borated his statement, with some very slight variation,
Mr. Serjeant VoticitAzi, for the defendant, urged that the acci-
dent purely originated in the thoughtlessness and carelessness of
the two children, who were crossing the road at the time, and
reading a book.
The LOUD Com Jurricv summed up, and kft it to the Jury to'
say whether the injury was sustained through accident, or by the
negligence of the defendant's coachman. If they thought the latter
was the case, they would find for the plaintiff.
The Jury found for the plaintiff—Damages £BO.