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Toole v. I. T. T. Grinnell Corp.
Citations: 156 Ga. App. 591; 1980 Ga. App. LEXIS 3133; 275 S.E.2d 97Docket: 61013
Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia; November 14, 1980; Georgia; State Appellate Court
An appeal was filed by the plaintiffs following a judgment in favor of the defendant in a wrongful death case involving the electrocution of the decedent while operating a derrick near high-voltage power lines owned by the defendant. The court addressed several key points: 1. The plaintiffs' challenge regarding the jury's impaneling was unsupported by the record. Such challenges must be raised before the verdict, and none was made here. 2. The trial judge did not abuse discretion by denying a postponement of closing arguments despite a juror's initial request to adjourn for a doctor's appointment, which was later retracted. 3. The defendant's engineering experts were deemed qualified to testify despite not being licensed engineers, as they possessed the requisite learning and experience. 4. A law firm representing the defendant was not disqualified due to prior representation of the decedent. The representation was limited to a separate legal inquiry regarding a shrimp boat accident and did not relate to the current case. No evidence suggested juror bias due to this prior representation. 5. The court's refusal to instruct the jury on a statute regarding the operation near high-voltage lines was not prejudicial to the plaintiffs, as the statute imposes no duty on the line owner without prior notice of work being conducted in proximity to the lines. No such notice was given in this instance. The judgment was affirmed, with concurrence from judges McMurray and Smith, and a rehearing was denied.