Norwich bulletin., 1922-03-03
SAYS BOTH HER WRISTS
WERE BROKEN IN ACCIDENT

Catherine Claffey of Old Lyme, who
Is suing James A Watrous of Old Say
brook for $4,000 for injuries racaived
in collision between a bicycle and an
automobile in Lyme on August IL, 1919,
told her story Of the accsdent before
Judge Christopher L. Avery ami jury
in me- superior court in New ;4oiiJt
Thursday morning. Sha was on the
stand wher court adjourned for the
day late Wednesday night and had tes-
titled briefly.
She said that she was riding bicycle
on Main street in Old Lyme about 9 o.
clock at night on Aug. IL and was re-
turning to the residence of Judge Walter
c. Noyes where she was employed when
an automobile driven by the defendant
struck her. She said that she was pass
ing under a light at the time and saw
the automobile approaching her from
the opposite direction. The machines
headlights were lighted.
The witness said that she was on
the right hand side of the road when
she saw the automobile coming over
to her right hand side She went over
to the right as far as she could until
there was no space left without strik-
ing stone wall beside the road. The
| approaching automobile hit. the bicycle
| and she was thrown off and knocked I'M
conscious and she did not regain con.
! seriousness until she was at the office of
DR.. E. K. Dewitt. Miss Claffey declared
that the automobile. gave no warning of
its approach and that there was no OBJ
| struction in the way to prevent the de-
PENDANT from seeing her. She said that
| she could not have done any more to
avoid the accident.
Miss Claffey said that after being at
| tended by DIR. Dewitt, she went to the
Lawrence Memorial Associated hospital
in New London where she remained two
weeks, with both her wrists, which were
broken in the accident, in plaster casts.
| At the end of that time she left the hos
| pital and went to Long Island to live
with her sister, the casts remaining on
her wrists three weeks long I. Several
weeks later she went to the New York
hospital in New York, where she had
to undergo an operation on the left wrist
for the removal of a fractured bone.
The witness testified that 5he had
been unable to do any work since the in.
jury as her arms were weak and her
wrists stiff
Or. f. K. Dewitt testified that he
was sitting on the front porch Of his
home when he heard the impact and
started toward the scene of tire acct
dent when he saw Watrous coming to-
ward his office with woman in his arm!
mr. the physician testified that both o.
Miss Claffey's wrists were bent bacl
on the fore arm. showing trat they were
fractured and that she had cut neal
the r7se, mruises near the left cal
and on the left hip and shoulder.
DR.. Dewitt said that he had examined
Miss Clafey's wrists this morning ant
found that they were not perfect ant
that there was some deformity. TIL
wrists showed a little lack of strength
some restriction in the movement of tn
right wrist and quite a little" in tn
movement of the left wrist. He sal
that there would always be a certain
percentage of restriction in both wrists
Under cross examination by Attorne.
John C. Geary for the defendant, D1
Dewitt said that there was no genera
impairment of Miss Ciaffey's conditi5
on account of the accident and that +
thought she could do general house
work if it was not too heavy:
The following jury is trying the case
Richard Keyes Peter ]. Eshenfelde-
: George H. Richards, Andrew ]. Collins
Filliam F. Lewis, P. A. Sheridan, Il
Howard Collins, Edward H. Caulkin:
New London; George o. Miner of Gro