2652 ARTICLE 67

ARTICLE 67.

NEGLIGENCE CAUSING DEATH.¹

	1. Liability notwithstanding death.	4. Equitable plaintiff to deliver to defen-
	2. Action where wrongful act, etc., occurred	dant full particulars.
	outside of state.	5. Word "person" to include corporation;
	3. Action to recover.	responsibility of corporations for
		acts of servants.

An. Code, 1924, sec. 1. 1912, sec. 1. 1904, sec. 1. 1888, sec. 1. 1852, ch. 299, sec. 1.
1929, ch. 570, sec. 1 (p. 1377).

1. Whenever the death of a person shall be caused by wrongful act,
neglect or default, and the act, neglect or default is such as would (if
death had not ensued) have entitled the party injured to maintain an
action and recover damages in respect thereof, the person who would have
been liable if death had not ensued, or the executor or administrator of the
said person who would have been liable in case of the death of the said
person who would have been liable, shall be liable to an action for damages,
notwithstanding the death of the person injured, and although the death
shall have been caused under such circumstances as amount in law to
felony; provided, however, that any such action against the executor or
administrator of the said person who would have been liable shall be com-
menced within six calendar months after the death of the said person who
would have been liable.

Maintenance of suit in other states and in federal courts; statutes of other
states.

Where alleged wrongful act and death of decedent occurred in Virginia, suit for
death could be maintained in Md., if at all, only on Virginia statute and not on Md.
statute. Rose v. Phillips Pkg. Co., 21 F. Supp. 485.

An action for negligence causing death, which happened in this state, may be main-
tained in another state in which common law obstacle to such action has been removed,
provided the statute of this state is not in substance inconsistent with statute or public
policy of state in which such action is brought. Such action may be brought in District
of Columbia and in federal courts sitting in New York state, where cause of action
arose in Maryland. Stewart v. B. & O. R. R. Co., 168 U. S. 443; Hollenbach v. Elmore,
etc., Contracting Co., 174 Fed. 845.

The right of action given by this section is enforceable in federal courts of admiralty
sitting in Maryland for a wrongful death in consequence of a negligent obstruction in
navigable waters of the state; right of jury trial not being indispensable to enforcement
of such cause of action. Maryland v. Miller, 180 Fed. 796; State, use Szczesek, v.
Homburg Co., 190 Fed. 240.

The statutes of other states not similar to our own, though belonging to the same
class of legislation (such as those of West Virginia), will not be allowed extra-territorial
effect. Dronenburg v. Harris, 108 Md. 608; Ash v. B. & O. R. R. Co., 72 Md. 147.

Particular cases.

An action lies under this section against a fraudulent vendor who sells property known
to be imminently dangerous and likely to cause injury to human beings, where vendee
is not aware of danger. Vendor's liability extends to persons taking charge of property
for vendee. Sufficiency of declaration. State, use Hartlove, v. Fox, 79 Md. 527.

For a suit against a physician for causing the death of a patient by an alleged un-
authorized and unskillful operation, see State, use Janney, v. Housekeeper, 70 Md. 168.

¹ The annotations to this article are mainly confined to cases dealing specifically with
the statute law. For cases involving the general principles of negligence, contributory
negligence, assumption of risk, and the like, see appropriate titles in the Md. Digest.