Haas v. Washington Water Power Co.

Citations

• 93 Wash. 291
• 160 P. 954
• 1916 Wash. LEXIS 1200

Syllabus

<p>Appeal — Review—Theory of Trial — Objections Below. Where the answer was treated at the trial as denying the allegation of negligence in a certain paragraph, it cannot be claimed for the first time on appeal that the same had been admitted by failing to deny such paragraph.</p> <p>Discovery — Interrogatories — Refusal to Answer — Penalty—, Statutes — Harmless Error. Under Rem 1915 Code, § 1230, providing for the striking of the offending party’s pleading for refusing to answer interrogatories and the rendition of judgment against' him, it is not error to deny a motion for judgment at the trial for such refusal, where the moving party did not bring himself within the statute by moving to strike the pleading and the offending party was required to file an answer to the interrogatory before any evidence was introduced, and the failure to answer it earlier had no prejudicial effect.</p> <p>Electricity — Action for Injuries — Electric Shock — Proximate Cause — Question for Jury. In an action for injuries sustained through an electric shock, shortly after a stroke of lightning had broken defendant’s high voltage transmission wires, whether the injury was caused by the act of the defendant in again charging the wires shortly after the shock, is for the jury, where experts expressed the view that a wet cross arm, upon which the broken wire rested, was a sufficient conductor to carry the excessive charge over the distribution wires to plaintiff’s house and cause plaintiff’s injury, although the same was disputed and there was vague evidence of a second stroke of lightning.</p> <p>Same — Action for Injuries — Electric Shock — Negligence— Question for Jury. In an action for injuries through receiving an electric shock, after a break in the defendant’s high voltage line, when defendant again turned on the current to test out the line, the negligence of the defendant is a question for the jury, where all the experts testified that the only practicable method of locating the t