Backenstoe v. City of Harrisburg

Wickersham, J.,

The plaintiffs claim damages for the death of their 15-year-old son, who was killed November 21, 1931, by the fall of a flagpole while he was attending a football game held on the property of the defendant on an island in the Susquehanna River, opposite Harrisburg, Pa., locally known as “The Island”, a section of which is maintained by the defendant as an athletic field. The jury returned a verdict of $417.10, whereupon the plaintiffs filed a motion for a new trial, alleging that the verdict was grossly inadequate.

The plaintiffs proved burial and other expenses amounting to…