Opinion ID: 1968884
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Failure to Instruct With Respect to Degree of Care.

Text: Plaintiffs also claim that prejudicial error was committed by the trial court in failing to instruct the jury with respect to the degree of care Holz owed to Mrs. Fleischman as a common carrier. This court held in Anderson v. Yellow Cab Co. (1923), 179 Wis. 300, 304, 191 N. W. 748, 31 A. L. R. 1197, that defendant cab company owed to plaintiff passenger the highest degree of care consistent with the proper transaction  of its business. Scales v. Boynton Cab Co. (1929), 198 Wis. 293, 294, 223 N. W. 836, 69 A. L. R. 978, reiterated this rule and held a taxicab operator to be a common carrier. The trial court, in the discussion had with counsel about framing the verdict and instructing the jury, stated that the degree of care required of Holz was that laid down in the Anderson and Scales Cases. The trial court, however, declared it unnecessary to embody this in an instruction because the issue of negligence boiled down to whether Holz closed the door on Mrs. Fleischman's thumb. Inasmuch as we concur in this latter conclusion, we agree it was unnecessary to give a specific instruction with respect to the degree of care owed by Holz as a common carrier. An instruction on the degree of care owed by Holz to Mrs. Fleischman would not assist the jury in deciding who closed the door. The instruction which was given in effect told the jury that whatever this degree of care was, Holz was negligent if the jury found that he closed the door on Mrs. Fleischman's thumb.