Rodgers v. Chimney Rock Public Power District

This is a wrongful death action brought under the Political Subdivisions Tort Claims Act by the personal representative of Harold Rodgers, deceased. Rodgers, who will be referred to as the plaintiff, was electrocuted on October 8, 1980, while working on his farm in Morrill County, Nebraska.

The defendant, Chimney Rock Public Power District, is engaged in the distribution and sale of electrical power. In 1965, at about the time the plaintiff moved onto his property, the defendant constructed a 7,200-volt distribution line across a part of the property. The line ran from the “south pole,” which…