Colorado Utilities Corp. v. Casady

In Colorado Utilities Corp. v. Casady, 89 Colo. 156, 300 P. 601 (1931), a nine-year-old child was severely injured when he came close to a downed high voltage line while standing on wet ground. The child lost his right arm and suffered other permanent injury. In that case, the supreme court approved, as a correct statement of the law, a damages instruction which stated, in pertinent part, as follows: "Where a minor has suffered a permanent injury, and such minor is too young to have selected an avocation or to begin to illustrate his earning capacity, in such cases there is no measure as to the amount of damages, where such minor is entitled to recover therefor, except the enlightened consciences of impartial jurors, guided by all the facts and circumstances of the particular case. . . ." Colorado Utilities Corp. v. Casady, supra, 89 Colo. at 166, 300 P. at 605. In Casady, the defendant objected to the instruction on a number of grounds, inter alia, the fact that there was no evidence in the record to support the damages, and that it was error to leave the determination of damages to the enlightened consciences of impartial jurors. The supreme court concluded the instruction was not open to objection on the grounds stated.