Ruff v. Memphis Light, Gas & Water Div.

MATHERNE, Judge.

The plaintiff Dirk Lynn Ruff was employed as an apprentice sign painter by Eller Outdoor Advertising Company in Memphis, Tennessee. In the course of his employment, he and a fellow employee were sent to post a sign on a certain billboard at 2263 Lamar in that city. After completing the job of posting the sign, Ruff was attempting to remove a 20-foot-long portable aluminum scaffold from the billboard, when the scaffold came in contact with the defendant’s uninsulated primary wire carrying 7200 volts of electricity. Ruff was severely injured by the resulting electric shock to…