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Grain Dealers Mutual Insurance v. Porterfield
Citations: 287 Ark. 27; 695 S.W.2d 833; 1985 Ark. LEXIS 2147Docket: 85-56
Court: Supreme Court of Arkansas; September 23, 1985; Arkansas; State Supreme Court
In a wrongful death case, Helen Porterfield filed suit for herself and her deceased husband Vernie Porterfield, who was electrocuted on July 19, 1983, while working at Malvern High School's football stadium. She sued Grain Dealers Mutual Insurance Company, the public liability insurer for the Malvern Special School District, and Arkansas Power and Light Company was included as a third-party defendant. A jury awarded $131,127, attributing 75% negligence to the school district, 20% to Vernie Porterfield, and 5% to Arkansas Power and Light Company. Grain Dealers Mutual appealed on three grounds: the admissibility of expert testimony from E.L. Cody, a lack of proof linking the school district's negligence to Vernie's death, and a request for a mistrial based on improper closing arguments. The court focused on the second point, agreeing that the trial court should have directed a verdict for the defendants due to insufficient evidence showing that any negligence was a proximate cause of Vernie Porterfield's death. The court noted that evidence must compel a conclusion beyond mere suspicion to be considered substantial. The facts indicated that the press box, rebuilt after tornado damage, was constructed using an outdated two-wire electrical system instead of the required three-wire system, which lacked necessary permits and inspections. On the day of the accident, Vernie was working alone to install handrails on a metal stairway, having set up his welding equipment nearby. At approximately 10:30, Mr. M.D. Kennedy, a teacher, found Mr. Porterfield unresponsive between a chain link fence and a metal stairway, and he began CPR despite having detected no pulse. An ambulance attendant declared Mr. Porterfield deceased about fifteen minutes later. Mr. Kennedy experienced a strong shock upon touching the fence, while others felt a lighter shock from the stairway. Investigations revealed that Mr. Porterfield's power grinder was connected via a homemade extension cord that had its grounding prong removed and was plugged in upside down, reversing the polarity. Tests indicated the stairway was energized with 120 volts, but the fence showed no voltage. The plaintiffs alleged negligence on the part of the school district for not obtaining a permit and failing to ground the electrical system as per the National Electrical Code, asserting that the lack of grounding contributed to the incident. However, it was established that the improper connection of the extension cord, resulting from the removed grounding prong, negated the negligence claim. Experts agreed that if the extension cord was upside down, the absence of a proper ground would not have prevented the accident. The court found a lack of evidence demonstrating proximate cause as required for the plaintiffs' case. It highlighted that the plaintiff bears the burden of proof to establish that the defendants’ conduct was a more likely cause of the incident, rather than mere speculation. The court noted that the testimony from an electrical expert suggested that the stairs should have been grounded but did not affirm that proper grounding would have prevented the electrocution. The absence of necessary expert testimony to link the failure to ground the stairs directly to Mr. Porterfield's death led to a reversal of the judgment and dismissal of the case. Judge Purtle did not participate in the decision.