The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1915-03-25
HOLD M0T0RMAN NEGLIGENT
Jury Confers Over Case for Several
Hours but Amount 70 be Awarded
Little Girl was Only Question at Is
sue.-May Appeal to Supreme Court.

1
Rudolph Extra and the Kenosha school
girl, who was run down and terribly
injured by car on the Chicago and
Milwaukee road on the afternoon of
May 18th of last year, was awarded
damages IN the sum of $4,000 by a
jury in the circuit court this morning.
The little girl had been so terribly in
jured that it had been found necessary
to amputate her right foot at the ankle
and in her suit against the company
she had demanded damages to the
amount Of $4,000. The jury consid-
cred the case for little over seven
hours, but it is admitted among the
members Of tn panel that the only
question at issue between them was the
amount that the child should be paid
for her terrible injuries.
On the early ballots the jury declar-
ed that she was entitled to recover and
the range in the amount was from
$4,000, the smallest amount suggested,
by the jurors, to $4,000. The amount
finally returned in the verdict was the
amount although it took many ballots
on the part of the jury to reach this
agreement. Some of the jurors insisted
for long time that the maximum
amount Of $4,000 should be awarded.
The verdict is what attorneys call
"clean verdict. The jury decided
every question submitted by the court
in favor of the child plaintiff. It held
that the Chicago and Milwaukee Rail
way Company had negligently failed to
maintain the crossing at Salem avenue
il a reasonably safe condition, that
this failure on the part Of the COM
pany was the proximate cause Of the
injury of the little girl. The jury held
that the motorman in charge Of the car
did not show proper care in attempting
to avoid the accident and that his lack
of care in the operation of the car was
the proximate cause Of the injury which
caused the foot of the child to be am
putated. The jury held that evidence
presented failed to show any contribu-
tory negligence on the part of the
little girl.
AS soon as the verdict was presented
it was reported that the attorneys for
the defendant companies would make
motions to have the verdict set aside
and for new trial and these motions
will be heard by Judge Belden some
time later.
The case had attracted great deal
Of interest and there was large crowd
in the court room when the verdict was
returned. The case went to the jury
just before three clock Friday after
noon after Henry R. Rathbone, who was
senior counsel in the case for the lit
tie girl, had made one of the strongest
appeals to jury ever heard in Kenosha
county. He was assisted in Stunning up
the case by Attorneys James E. Tully
of Kenosha and Thomas Nash Of Chi
cago Rat.bone's address brought
tears to tie eyes of the jurors and to
the eyes of spectators in the court.
The accident on which the claim for
damages was based, took place on the
afternoon of May 18th, 1914 Little
Minnie Extra and party Of her friends
were going home from school and when
the child went to cross the railway her
foot became caught in defective
crossing. She made frantic signals to
the motorman in charge of the car but
he evidently did not regard the cries Of
the little girl until it was too late to
prevent her being struck by the car.
The child was in court and her appear
anc on the witness stand made pathe-
| tic picture for the jurors.
Tt is probable that the case will be
appealed to the supreme court. The
verdict is the largest ever handed
down in a personal injury case in the
circuit court for Knosha county.