Nadeau v. Inhabitants of Taunton

The plaintiff’s intestate, Alfred Nadeau, was killed at about 5:10 p.m. on December 1, 1920, by coming in contact with a charged wire maintained by the municipal lighting plant of the defendant. Prior to the accident the wire had parted: one end hung suspended from a tree on the easterly side of Bay Street, and the other lay in the gutter, for approximately twenty feet, concealed by water and dead leaves. Nadeau was on his way home from work. It was dark and raining at the time. He crossed Bay Street, carrying an umbrella over his head; stepped upon the broken wire which was concealed in the…