Abernathy v. Eline Oil Field Services, Inc.

David Abernathy brought an action for personal injuries and his wife brought an action as representative of their deceased son John in the Ninth Judicial District, Pondera County, against Eline Oil Company. A jury returned a verdict for Eline, holding that David had suffered $20,000 in damages but could not recover because he was 75 percent comparatively negligent and that Eline’s negligence was not a proximate cause of John’s death. We vacate the judgment for defendant Eline.

The Abernathys raise the following issues:(1) Did the trial court err in instructing the jury on the elements of…