Jury Vior Dire Hypothetical Fact Pattern

June 22, 2007

This is a wrongful death case where Plaintiff Mary P’s 38 year old son, John P., was killed on a construction site (when he came into contact with a live electrical wire that had been unearthed during excavation work).

The incident occurred at the University of Orange County, during the construction of this new University.

The general contractor on the Job was S&W.  They hired subcontractor, Electro Corp to place “temporary’ power lines to provide electricity to the construction trailers on the site (which house the offices of the contractors.)  Electro Corp placed the electric lines underground, but did not mark them with “underground warning tape.”  This red warning tape is to be placed one-half foot over the electric line itself.  That way, if someone digs or excavates in the vicinity of the electric line, they will hit the tape first, see its warning, and stop digging — and touch nothing.

Months later, digging/excavation occurred by Southern California Grading Company in the vicinity of the temporary wire.  Mr. P. Was hired to do dust control, by running a water truck behind the excavation tractor.  Mr. P. was not informed that the excavation was being performed near the temporary power lines.

When the excavator unearthed the power line, Mr. P. got out of his water truck to remove the wire from the path of the excavation.  Upon touching the wire, he was immediately electrocuted and killed.

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