Hargis v. City of Dearborn Heights

Jerry Michael Hargis, age eight, drowned in the Ecorse drain. His father, as administrator of his estate, commenced this action under the wrongful death act against the defendants, City of Dearborn Heights and County Road Commissioners of the County of Wayne. The defendants appeal from a jury verdict in plaintiff’s favor.

The Ecorse drain is an open drain meandering through western Wayne County. Jerry Hargis drowned in April, 1965, after falling from a bridge or culvert constructed in 1961 by the road commission, into waters rushing in the drain. Before the accident, in 1963, the road…