Signs v. Detroit Edison Co.

Defendant, Consumers Power Company, appeals a $222,000 judgment on a jury verdict in favor of plaintiff for the wrongful death of plaintiffs husband, Kenneth Signs. Plaintiff cross-appeals a directed verdict in favor of defendant, The Detroit Edison Company, granted at the conclusion of plaintiffs proofs.

This death case arises out of the electrocution of Signs on July 14, 1972, at the Detroit Edison Hancock substation in Commerce Township, Oakland County. Signs was electrocuted by a fellow employee who inadvertently brought his crane into contact with one of many Edison high voltage lines…