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Ruffin v. Bristol

Court of Appeals of Georgia
Jan 25, 1972
187 S.E.2d 577 (Ga. Ct. App. 1972)

Opinion

46806.

ARGUED JANUARY 10, 1972.

DECIDED JANUARY 25, 1972.

Action for damages. Evans Superior Court. Before Judge Caswell.

James E. Findley, Thomas J. Ratcliffe, Jr., for appellant.

Kennedy Sognier, John G. Kennedy, for appellees.


Plaintiff in a personal injury action appeals from the judgment for one of the defendants.

Plaintiff was a passenger in her husband's automobile. It appears that they had stopped to make a left turn when defendant Bristol's automobile struck them from the rear, slightly at an angle, which knocked their car across the road into the path of defendant Green's oncoming vehicle. The jury returned a verdict against Bristol and for Green.

1. Plaintiff contends the court erred in admitting the investigating officer's accident report because it contained hearsay, opinions and conclusions. However, the officer had previously testified to the same statements, opinions and conclusions without objection. Moreover, while certain parts of the document were clearly admissible, the objection was to the whole. It was not error to admit it in its entirety. See Stubbs v. Daughtry, 115 Ga. App. 22 ( 153 S.E.2d 633); Calhoun v. Chappell, 117 Ga. App. 865 ( 162 S.E.2d 300).

2. In a single enumeration of error, plaintiff contends the court failed to charge on joint and concurrent negligence and wrongfully refused to give one of her requests to charge. The inference seems to be that the requested charge dealt with joint and concurrent negligence. It actually concerns the form of the verdict, a subject covered adequately in the charge. Also, the court charged clearly on joint and concurrent negligence.

3. Plaintiff contends the court erred in refusing to charge that ordinary care requires a driver to maintain such a rate of speed as will permit him to stop within the range of his lights; or in other words, that failure to maintain such a speed would be negligence per se. The court did not err. There is no statute or case law in Georgia requiring this standard. On the other hand, the court charged Code Ann. § 68-1626 (a) which requires a reasonable and prudent speed, under the existing conditions and hazards, which would prevent a collision. By this standard, a speed which would allow stopping within the range of headlights would often be required, but not always (e.g. a well-lighted, limited access highway in clear weather and light traffic).

4. Two of the court's charges which plaintiff enumerates as error were not objected to below so the issues are not reviewable. Stiles v. Seagraves, 124 Ga. App. 389 ( 184 S.E.2d 45); Ocilla Truck c. Co. v. Nolan, 124 Ga. App. 417 ( 184 S.E.2d 48).

Judgment affirmed. Pannell and Quillian, JJ., concur.

ARGUED JANUARY 10, 1972 — DECIDED JANUARY 25, 1972.


Summaries of

Ruffin v. Bristol

Court of Appeals of Georgia
Jan 25, 1972
187 S.E.2d 577 (Ga. Ct. App. 1972)
Case details for

Ruffin v. Bristol

Case Details

Full title:RUFFIN v. BRISTOL et al

Court:Court of Appeals of Georgia

Date published: Jan 25, 1972

Citations

187 S.E.2d 577 (Ga. Ct. App. 1972)
187 S.E.2d 577

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