Tidwell v. Kay's of Nashville, Inc.

These are personal injury suits tried together, wherein the plaintiff Clayton Tidwell, a minor, suffered severe injuries when playing with dry ice which had been given him by the defendants. It seems that two small pieces of dry ice were given the plaintiff and his young friend William Carr, both about ten or eleven years of age. This ice was later placed in a small bottle with water, then a top placed on the bottle and later there was an explosion while young Tidwell had the bottle in his hand.

The trial judge directed a verdict in favor of the defendants. The Court of Appeals reversed,…