Opinion ID: 2085682
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Time of Injury in the Verdict.

Text: The time of the injury referred to in the first question of the special verdict is phrased as follows: At the time and place of the injury to the plaintiff . . . It is urged by the plaintiffs that this should have read at and prior to the time of the injury to the plaintiff . . . Plaintiffs' counsel argues that the wording used in the verdict directed the jury's attention to the precise moment of the event, whereas, it is claimed, the question should have inquired as to whether the defendants ought to have done something prior thereto in order to make the place safe. In our opinion, there is no merit to this contention. If the question had been framed as the plaintiffs propose, it would have permitted the jury to have explored the conduct of the defendants for periods far in advance of the time of the injury. In a safe-place case involving a temporary condition, the words at the time and place were used in the special verdict question and no disapproval was indicated by this courtalthough the issue was not specifically dealt with. Krause v. Veterans of Foreign Wars Post No. 6498 (1960), 9 Wis. (2d) 547, 101 N. W. (2d) 645. In our opinion, the language selected by the trial court was reasonably calculated to obtain a meaningful response from the jury.