Opinion
Decided June, 1879.
If a railroad, having the right to cross a highway, does not leave it reasonably safe, and a person is injured thereby, the town may be held liable.
CASE, for damage to a traveller caused by a defective highway. The alleged defect was a hole at a railroad crossing. The defendant excepted to the refusal of the court to instruct the jury that it is not answerable for the mode of construction or condition of the railroad. Verdict for the plaintiff.
Foster and Hatch, for the defendant.
Page and Frink, for the plaintiff.
If a railroad company, acting under their charter, create an obstruction in a highway by which a traveller sustains damage, the town is answerable as if the same acts had been done by an individual. Willey v. Portsmouth, 35 N.H. 313; Elliot v. Concord, 27 N.H. 204, State v. Dover, 46 N.H. 452; Bacon v. Boston, 3 Cush. 179; Eyler v. Co. Com'rs, 49 Md. 257; Watson v. Tripp, 11 R.I. 98.
Judgment on the verdict.
SMITH, J., did not sit: the others concurred.