Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1910-02-24
VERDICT FOR DAMAGES
Miss Myrtle Walker Receivers $4,000
From Railroad
INJURED LAST MARCH BY ENGINE
Attorney GOggin Of This City. and Rathbone OF
Chicago Handle Her Case.

Saturday evening at about 7:30 the
jury in the Walker-Ann Arbor rail.
road case returned verdict in favor
of Miss Myrtle Walker for SIS. 900 dam
ages on account of injuries received by
her last March. Miss Walkers in
terests were represented bv Cbas II.
Goggin of his city and II Il. Rathbone
of Chicago, the plaintiff by Messrs E.
S. Drake of Detroit. and VIM. Bshlke
of this city. The case is notable in that
it resulted in the verdict for t he
greatest amount of damages for
personal injury of any similar case
ever tried in the county
1t will be remem bered that on March
18th last, as Miss Walker, a fifteen
year old school girl. whose home was
then at 103 Park Avenue was going
home from school she was struck and
severely injured by an Ann Arbor
passenger train. at the place where
the Ann Arbor and the Pere Marquette
tracks are parallel A Pere Marquette
freight traiE was coming in one direc-
tion and in avoiding that Miss Walker
was run down by the Ann Arbor pas
senger which was coming swiftly from
the opposite direction. After being
struck, Miss Walker was hurried to
Brainerd's hospital where it was found
necessary to amputate one leg above
the ankle and one foot at the instep.
Miss Walker was also hurt about the
head and hands The final trial of the
case began In the court house at Ithaca
before Judge Kelley S Searl last Wed
nesday afternoon. All the remainder
of Wednesday and Thursday afternoon
were spent in preliminaries. There
was but little trouble in securing a
jury only ninteen having to be called
before twelve who were satisfactory
could be chosen. Thursday afternoon
and all day Friday were taken up with
taking testimony and Saturday morn
ing the plaintiff rested the case. The
defense made a motion that the matter
the ground that contrbutorv negligence
on the part of the girl was sufficient
excuse for the defendants. Judge Scarf
held that the matter of contributory
negligence of the girl was. as the
defendants claimed. a question for the
court but that the matter of the gross
negligence of the railroad company
was question for the jury and there
fore refused to take the case out of
the jury's hands. The jury retired to
the jury room about loo O'Clock and
three and one half hours later returned
with the verdict as stated.
1t was brought out in the evidence
presented that the girl was guilty of
n.ributory negligence, that is, she
was negligent on her part before the
accident and this excused the railroad
company mp to the time that the
engineer of the locomotive saw the
girl. but that there was gross negli-
gence on the part of the railroad COM
pany in not making everv effort to
stop the train after the girl had been
seen. and hence the defendants were
responsible.
Miss Walker, when put on the stand,
said that when she was seventv-6v9 feet
from the track, she looked and listened
for a train. When twenty-five feet
from the tSack she again looked and
listened and when but eight feet. she
looked once more and saw the Pere
Marquette freight train approaching
tion of the depot. She had already gone
across the Ann Arbor track. which was
closest to her when the Pere Mar
quette engine reached the edge of the
roadway. Quickly deciding that she
would not have--time to cross in front
of the on-coming freight train. she
turned TO go tack. swinging as she
turned toward the east, or looking in
the direction of the freight train. thus
turning her back to the fast approach
ing Ann ArboT passenger train, which
on account OF the ncise of the freight,
and the big curve at this place in the
track she had neither heard nor seen
approaching 1t was also brought out by
further testimony that the bell on
the passenger was not ringing nor had
the whistle blown. The court held that
the defendants were. right in their con-
tention that the girl was guilty of con-
tributory negligence in watching the
Pere Marquette train when the Ann
Arbor train was approaching although