Opinion ID: 2606799
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Negligence of Ford

Text: In view of our guest statute, it is clear from the verdict of the jury, against both defendants, that the jury found Peterson guilty of gross negligence and that his negligence was one of the proximate causes of the accident. It is equally clear that the jury found negligence on the part of Ford, in manufacturing the accident vehicle, and that this negligence was a concurrent proximate cause of the accident. Although the evidence in that regard is in conflict, there was ample expert testimony for the jury to have found, and apparently it did so find, that some of the rivets holding the rim to the spider, on the right-front wheel, were inferior in quality. This would indicate poor metallurgical control and a lack of proper inspection for the purpose of keeping the quality of the rivets up to prescribed specifications, during the manufacturing process. The spider of which we speak takes the place of spokes in a wheel. It is that part of the wheel that fastens onto the hub and the rim. It is a hollow-shaped disk, stamped and pressed of sheet steel and having four flanges which fasten to the rim. Each wheel has 12 rivets in a single line around the rim, with three rivets for each of the four flanges. All rivets in this wheel which were in place and holding at the time of the impact were sheared off. In fact 11 of the 12 rivets were so sheared. The shearing effect caused rivet holes in the rim to be elongated in the direction of separation. For most of the holes, this elongation is visible to the naked eye without magnification. Two of the experts, however, on behalf of plaintiff, from laboratory examinations under magnification, corroborated this. From their examinations, these two experts testified that one of the defective rivets, designated for identification purposes as number 11, had fractured prior to the accident so that it was not holding at the time of impact and was not sheared. Both witnesses said this fracturing would sooner or later allow the rivet to pop out of its hole and into the tire, which was a tubeless tire. The result would be a flat tire caused by air escaping out of the rivet hole. One of the witnesses went on to express the opinion, based upon his independent examination, that rivet number 11 was out of its hole at the time of the accident. Peterson himself testified repeatedly, and without contradiction, that he felt a flat or low tire. He said he did not know whether it went all the way flat before the wreck, but it was leaking air and it felt like an awfully low tire. He described the result by saying it kept pulling me and pulling me farther and farther down into the ditch, and after he got down into the ditch he could not get back up on the road. Again, he explained that at the time it was happening he did not think the tire was clear flat, but that it was pulling more all the time. He insisted the tire being like it was is what pulled him into the barrow pit. This testimony standing alone, if the jury believed it, would entitle the jury to find that the loss of air in the right-front tire was one of the causes for the automobile leaving the highway and therefore a concurrent cause of the accident. The tire itself was found after the accident to have no puncture and no place for rapid air escape, unless there had been an open rivet hole. This, if the testimony of Peterson was believed, leaves the inevitable conclusion that the fractured rivet referred to in the testimony of plaintiff's experts popped out of the hole letting air escape, and that the low tire with Peterson's fast driving caused the vehicle to get out of control and wreck. We have frequently said it is the function of an appellate court to ascertain whether or not there was substantial evidence upon which the jury could base its opinion if it believed the testimony, and that it is not for us to evaluate the evidence presented. Culver v. Sekulich, Wyo., 344 P.2d 146, 156. The jurors being the sole judges of the credibility of witnesses, we need not say whether they should or should not have believed the testimony of Peterson. However, there are circumstances where the testimony of a single witness may not be sufficient to support a verdict, such as testimony which is contrary to known physical facts. See Oeland v. Neuman Transit Company, Wyo., 365 P.2d 806, 810. Therefore, we pause to examine Peterson's testimony with a view of determining whether it was corroborated by other evidence and whether it is in fact corroborated or contradicted by known physical facts.