Benjamin v. Randell

This is an appeal from an order granting a new trial limited to the issue of damages.

Fifteen-year-old Robert Benjamin was injured when struck by a surveyor’s pole thrown by 15-year-old Tim Randell. The pole, 1 inch in diameter and 7% feet long, with a metal tip on one end, was found by one of four boys who were walking home from school together. Their route was along a 1-lane gravel road paralleling the shore of Puget Sound near Blaine.

As might be expected, the pole immediately became a javelin, and an impromptu throwing competition followed. At first all four boys threw from the same point…