Missouri State Life Ins. v. West

McDERMOTT, Circuit Judge.

A jury, properly charged, found that Clarence Dent was accidentally killed, and a judgment accordingly was rendered on an accident insurance policy. The company’s chief contention is that the circumstances exclude every rational hypothesis except that of suicide, and that the trial court erred in refusing to direct a verdict for the company. There is no dispute as to the law. The burden is upon plaintiff to establish that death resulted from injuries effected through accidental means. When the proof establishes such a death, without more, the rational inference or…