45 S.C. 146 | S.C. | 1895
The opinion of the Court was delivered by
The appellant is a corporation engaged in generating and furnishing electricity in the city of Charleston, S. C., for the purpose of illumination and motive power. On the 16th of December, 1893, during the prevalence of a violent wind storm, one of the electric wires of the defendant, fully charged with electricity, broke, and the two severed ends rested on the ground in one of the thoroughfares of the city. The defendant’s testimony tended to show that the wire broke about 2 o’clock, while the testimony of the plaintiff tended to show that it broke at an earlier hour in the day, and that between 12 and 1 o’clock on the day of the accident the defendant was notified that there was some trouble with its wires, and that they were dangerous.
At about 3 o’clock p. m., the plaintiff, while passing through this thoroughfare, was injured by the fallen wire. He whs instantly shocked upon coming in contact with it, and fell to the earth unconscious. For some time thereafter he was confined to his bed, during which period he suffered greatly. His hand was badly burnt, and he lost the use of two fingers. This action was instituted to recover damages for such injuries. The plaintiff charged negligence on the part of the defendant, in that it permitted its wires, charged with electricity, to hang suspended over a thoroughfare of the city so as to become dangerous to passengers on the street, and that the plaintiff, a passenger, in consequence thereof, was seriously injured by the said wire charged with electricity, and was damaged to the extent of $20,000.
The defendant joined issued on these allegations, and set up the defense of contributory negligence on the part of
The charge of the presiding Judge will be set out in the report of the case.
The appellant’s first exception is as follows: 1. “That the presiding Judge erred in charging the jury as follows: ‘If a cyclone, that could not be anticipated or reasonably foreseen, was the cause of that wire falling, and the company was not negligent in allowing it to remain there for an unreasonable length of time, then, under those circumstances, it would not be liable.’ ”
It is the judgment of this Court, that the judgment of the Circuit Court be affirmed.