Western Union Telegraph Company v. Hoffman

15 S.W. 1048 (1891)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

P was hurt and his mother immediately sent a telegraph to the family doctor to come without delay. The message was sent by D. It was received that same day in the city of Conroe where the doctor lived but it was never delivered. P was 15 when he was hurt. He dislocated his arm at the elbow. Had the message been received, the doctor would have responded in 24 hours and would have easily saved the arm. No other dispatch was sent nor any other attempts were made to attend to the boy’s arm. When the wound healed it was stiff and permanently disabled. The Dr. just happened to wander by P’s home nine days later and informed Ps that there was nothing he could do. Ps sued Ds for negligence. D pleaded contributory negligence. A jury verdict was rendered in favor of the father for $900, and in favor of his son for $4125. D appealed.