Bridgeton pioneer., 1914-09-24
WOMAN'S SUIT
AGAINST RAILROAD
Mrs. Chard Slipped From
Car Steps.
ASKS FOR DAMAGES.
Yesterday Taken Up With Testi-
mony-Case Goes to Jury
This Morning.

Inc urSL case calleu 1Or trlal IN the
Supreme Court yesterday before
Judge Carrow was the suit of Mary
]. Chard against the West Jersey and
seashore Railroad Company, and
jury was empanelled.
Louis H. Miller appeared for the
plaintiff and Walter H. Bacon for the
defendant company.
Before the case was taken up, how
ever, the case of former Governor E.
c. Stokes against the West Jersey and
Seashore Railroad Company was
moved for trial by Mr. Miller. The
motion for trial was resisted by Mr..
Bacon, the attorney for the railroad
company.
This case grows out of the fatal
railroad accident at the Malaga cross
ing couple of years ago, in which
Gov. Stokes father received fatal in
juries. In this case Mr.. Adams and
Miss Wisham brought suit and re-
ceived verdict in this court a year
ago. This was carried up to the Su-
preme Court, where it is still pending.
Mr.. Bacon opposed going to trial
in this case, because of those two
cases not yet having been decided.
The case of Mrs. Chard in brief, is
that Mrs. Chard was going from Pit
man to Millyille, on February 10th
last. When alighting at Millyille the
Steps of the car had ice upon them,
Ands, in stepping on this she was
caused to fall to the platform and
was seriously injured.
She sues to recover damages for
her injuries sustained by the fall.
The defence was that the steps of
the car had been cleaned at Camden,
and that snow had been falling dur
ing the trip down to Millville, and
consequently that the fault was not
with the railroad company.
Mrs. Chard was sworn; lives at
Millville; is a widow. On February
10Th was in Pitman and in the morn
ing of htat day the weather was sleety
but the sleet ceased at about 8 o'clock
a. m. Took the train that evening for
Millville. Got in Millville at 710,
Went to get off, stepped on the first
steps, when she said she slipped on
some ice on the step, and fell TO the
platform. Hilley Wallace assisted
her to get up after her fall. There is
a rubber on the steps, which prevents
slipping ordinarily. Could not say
if there was rubber on this step. 1t
was covered with ice there was no
sleet having fallen since 9 O'Clock IN
the morning.
She was injured on The knee. elbow
and side, from which she has not re-
covered. Her injuries were treated
by Dr. Charlesworth.
DIR. Charlesworth, of Millville. was
called to the witness stand. He stat
ed that he had been a practicing ply
sician in Millville since 1905. He had
attended Mrs. Chard; she came to him
on the morning of February 18th last.
He described the condition of her
knee; she suffered, he said, from
acute inflammation of the member,
by which she was confined to her bed
for three weeks; then he had to put
her limb into plaster Of Paris in which
he kept it for two weeks. The injury
is not yet cured, and there are several
adhesions of the ligaments to the
bone.
Mrs. Bregler, of Pitman, was sworn
and testified that she remembered
Mrs. Chard being in Pitman on Feb
ruary 10th. She said it showed in
Pitman that morning, the weather
clearing about o'clock.
This ended the plaintiffs case, and
Mr.. Bacon made motion for a nom
suit. Judge Carrow denied the mo-
ton.
DR.. F. Vernon Ware was called to
the witness stand; he said he had
been a practicing physician in Mill