Omaha daily bee., 1909-05-29
Amount
Injury.
Balm for Pain.

II It were possible for a man to sustain
all Of these damages. and some men have
nearly run that gamut, he should recover
the total Of nearly a quarter of a million
dollars. The man who could sustain all Of
these injuries would certainly be almost a
physical wreck. Although a mere bag OF
bones" in a literal sense. he would he
wealthy. but probably full of pain and
suffering for the rest Of his life.
Sometimes mere pain and suffering
brings an award OF 5000 in damages, and
a Texas court In the case OF the Gulf Rail-
road Company against Chcltan awarded a
sum OF $4,000 for physical disabilities.
Speaking of getting rich by getting injured
suggests that II a man, while young, could
begin to sustain the list of injuries given
in the table and recover at various periods,
all antedating the next injury. he might
live to enjoy the fruits of his strangely
acquired fortune. That would be making
money out OF humanity, with a vengeance
The world could certainly he said to have
lowed such a mar a living"
Yet IL this man had been killed by the
first accident his next of kin would have
been lucky If they had obtained a verdict
Of So,0O0, the ultimate that the law per-
mits to be collected for a life. Even the
memory is rated at more than life. In the
case OF Stewart against the Long Island
railway, the skull of a young woman was
fractured in an accident. The jury de-
cided that It was due to the negligence OF
the employees and for the loss OF memory
that resulted from the injury, which ex-
perts thought might be permanent, she
was awarded SIS, 600 and the court Of final
review considered that the verdict was not
excessive. This phase of the worth OF a
live mans crippled body, adjudged from
the damage to the different parts, presents
a curious study in Jurisprudence.
A mans eyesight. for instance, has not
peen deemed as valuable as his memory.
In a Minnesota case, a man whose right
eye had been made wholly blind by dam
age sustained in a wreck and whose left
eye was declared by expert testimony. to
be nine-tenths damaged. collected S14,o
In some states the value OF the eyes differ
Illinois eyes only brought 5000, and both
were rendered totally blind. In Texas
total blindness as the result of a railway
accident, received a reward OF 1850.
Broken noses came rather low in the
scale of values. Not only was the nose Of
a man named Crockett mashed flat, bui
his teeth were knocked out, yet a Texa,
jury only gave him solace OF $3.50. The
verdict probably was reached by compro-
mise. II is a serious thing to break 6
mans jaw. when Il is done in California
One Boyce sued the California Stage com
pany for breaking his Jaw and dislocatinl
his shoulder blade. Although Boyce was
laborer. the jury gave him 1850. A man
shoulder was judicially valued at s., 800 b,
a Colorado court. A young woman arm
broken in a New York railway accident
brought a collection of $4,000. The arm
could not be Strengthened out aud was In
capable Of perfect movement. An arr
brought $1,000 in an Illinois court, becaus
the loss Of the arm was coupled with In
tense suffering on the part Of the mar VIII
had lost 1t.
A Texas railroad man, who proved tina
but for the loss OF an arm he would hav
been promoted. received $4,000. The jurie
seem to take into consideration the effec
a mans injuries are likely to have on hi
earning capacity. An injury to the wis
which caused a New York man TO kee
his hand In a plaster cast for five week
was valued at $3.50 but an Iowa mar
whose hand was injured in a railroad wrec.
recovered $1,000. He was regularly EN-
ployed at the time OF the accident and. al
NAA'46h Ae 49, u tAAg eFR a NNdAH u
was in line for regular promotion.
Sentiment Counts.
Injuries to the heart may be physical a
well as sentimental, A California man. VIII
was so mashed in a wreck that he con
tracted heart disease. was awarded $40
damages The plaintiff. Storrs. was
years OF age, but he was in good healt
before the accident. He also had extensiv
business interests. which suffered by rea
son of the injury TO his health. Two dit
ferent Texas courts have assessed injurie
to the spine at saooo This award. mad
first In the case Of one Mass against
railroad company, seemed 20 establish
precedent. for the same award was mad
later IN the case Of Coots against a telS
graph company.
Woodbury.. a physician. whose praetic
was worth 2.So q year. received an injur