Jackson County Rural Electric Cooperative Corp. v. Massey

CLAY, Commissioner,

Plaintiff recovered a $150,000 judgment against the appellant defendant for injuries sustained from contact with a high tension wire. The latter contends it was entitled to a directed verdict.

Defendant maintained two uninsulated wires across a rural road in Clay County. The lower one (not energized) was approximately 12½ feet above the *485roadway at the place where the accident occurred. The energized high tension wire, carrying 7200 volts of electricity, was 4 feet above it.

The plaintiff, in the coal stripping business, was moving a Link Belt crawler type shovel on the road.…