Sullivan v. Old Colony Street Railway Co.

Mary Sullivan (plaintiff) was a passenger in a railway car operated by Old Colony Street Railway Company (the railway) (defendant) when the car left the track and hit a post. Approximately seven months later, Sullivan became pregnant. The baby, who was born prematurely 14 months after the accident, suffered congenital weaknesses and died approximately 48 hours after birth. When Sullivan sued the railway for damages from the accident, she sought damages for the child’s death and her own associated mental suffering. She claimed that the premature birth and subsequent death resulted from hysteria caused by the accident. The railway admitted liability for the accident but contested any liability for damages associated with the baby’s death or Sullivan’s related mental suffering. Sullivan’s physician testified that Sullivan’s only physical injury from the accident was a bruise on her ribs but that Sullivan suffered from a mental disruption that caused ongoing hysteria. However, the physician testified that he could merely speculate as to any connection between Sullivan’s mental condition and the baby’s premature birth and subsequent death. A physician called by the railway testified that a mother’s nervous condition, if severe, might cause a premature birth. The trial judge instructed the jury that the railway was not liable for the child’s death because the death was too remotely related to the accident. However, the judge allowed the jury to award Sullivan damages for her own mental suffering from the death if the jury concluded the accident contributed to the child’s premature birth or subsequent death. The jury awarded Sullivan damages, and the railway appealed.