Krueger v. Knutson

111 N.W.2d 526, 261 Minn. 144, 1961 Minn. LEXIS 624
CourtSupreme Court of Minnesota
DecidedOctober 6, 1961
Docket38,142, 38,154, 38,155, 38,157
StatusPublished
Cited by56 cases

This text of 111 N.W.2d 526 (Krueger v. Knutson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Minnesota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Krueger v. Knutson, 111 N.W.2d 526, 261 Minn. 144, 1961 Minn. LEXIS 624 (Mich. 1961).

Opinions

Nelson, Justice.

Two negligence actions were consolidated for jury trial. Terrance Krueger, a minor, by Delbourne Krueger, his father and natural guardian, sued for personal injuries resulting from an explosion. Delbourne Krueger sued for special damages incurred by reason of medical, hospital, and surgical expenses growing out of said personal injuries. Originally these suits were commenced against Chester Knutson and Agnes Knutson, his wife; Neil Wohlers, an individual and d.b.a. Wohlers Pharmacy; and Don Wheeler, individually and d.b.a. Wheeler Drug.

At the close of plaintiffs’ evidence the trial court granted a dismissal to defendant Wheeler on the ground that no proof of negligence had been shown against him. The jury found by special verdict that thé negligence of neither Chester Knutson nor Agnes Knutson was a proximate cause of the explosion and they were thus eliminated as defendants.

Some of the questions submitted to the jury and its findings were as follows:

“Question No. 1: Did the defendant Neil Wohlers supply the potassium chlorate to either Roger Knutson or Terrance Krueger that was used in the rocket which exploded in the basement of the Knutson home on February 8,1958?

“Answer Yes or No: Yes”

“Question No. 2: Did Ned Wohlers act in a negligent manner at the times he supplied the potassium chlorate to either Roger Knutson or Terrance Krueger?

“Question No. 3: Was negligence of Neil Wohlers a proximate cause of the explosion in which Terrance Krueger was injured?

“Question No. 8: Did Terrance Krueger act in a negligent manner at the time of the explosion which caused his injuries?

“Answer Yes or No: No”

[147]*147“Question No. 10: Did Terrance Krueger fully appreciate the dangers involved in loading the rocket which exploded and caused his injuries and did he voluntarily assume the risk of being injured?

“Question No. 12: Did Delboume Krueger act in a negligent manner in permitting his son Terrance to experiment with and assist in loading rockets in the basement in the Knutson house on February 8,1958?

Thus, by special verdict, the jury found the defendant Wohlers negligent and his negligence the proximate cause of Terrance Krueger’s injuries. The verdicts returned' and judgments thereafter entered awarded $5,000 general damages to Terrance Krueger and $1,279.43 special damages to Delboume Krueger.

Defendant Wohlers moved for an order granting judgment notwithstanding the verdict and plaintiff Terrance Krueger moved for a new trial on the issue of damages only, later abandoning the motion with respect to defendants Chester and Agnes Knutson and Don Wheeler. The trial court denied both motions. Plaintiff Terrance Krueger appealed from the trial court’s order denying his motion, and defendant Wohlers appealed from the judgments entered against him. The appeals were consolidated for hearing and argument in this court.

Briefly the pertinent facts involved in this litigation are as follows: For some weeks prior to February 8, 1958, Terrance Krueger and several other boys from Lake City High School formed a rocket club and proceeded to experiment in making rockets. Several experiments occurred prior to February 8, 1958, when a rocket exploded while being filled, causing serious injury to Terrance Krueger’s left hand. The experiments were conducted in the basement of the home of Chester and Agnes Knutson, their son also belonging to the rocket club. The members of the club were approximately 16 years of age and juniors in high school.

In order to propel the rockets it was necessary to fuel them. It was while another boy was tamping a rocket with fuel that the explosion occurred which caused the injury. Potassium chlorate had been mixed [148]*148with sulphur and charcoal to make the fuel. The record indicates that Terrance did not know the properties of potassium chlorate except that when mixed with sulphur and charcoal the mixture would “bum” if a match was applied to it, but he did not know that the tube could blow up if tamped. The record indicates that all of the boys present assumed that a fuse would have to be attached and a match applied.

A fuse about two feet long had been attached to all rockets and when firing a rocket the boys would all get out of the way. On February 8, Roger Knutson was tamping the mixture while Terrance held the tube. They had proceeded similarly on previous occasions. Two other boys were present in the room but none appears to have had any knowledge that the mixture would explode upon tamping.

Potassium chlorate is a potent oxidizing agent and when brought in contact with an oxydizable substance it may explode. Dr. Robert Brastad, professor of chemistry from the University of Minnesota, testified that untrained individuals could not judge when potassium chlorate becomes dangerous. The dangerous properties of the chemical were not seriously disputed by defendant Wohlers. Dr. Brastad characterized potassium chlorate as an inherently dangerous substance.

There is testimony in the record that the potassium chlorate which was used in the rocket which exploded was purchased at Neil Wohlers’ drug store; that the boys told Wohlers that they were working with rockets. The record shows that Wohlers is a registered pharmacist and has available to him in his store at all times the National Formulary and Remington’s Practice of Pharmacy, which are authorities relied on by pharmacists in actual practice. These books describe the properties of potassium chlorate. The record indicates that Wohlers knew the chemical potassium chlorate to be explosive if combined with an organic material but at no time since leaving pharmacy school had he consulted these books about this compound and it does not indicate that he gave any warning to the boys concerning the dangerous explosive properties of potassium chlorate.

Plaintiffs contend that the general standard of care of a druggist in a community the size of Lake City in the dispensing of potassium chlorate, sulphur, and charcoal to people, including children of the [149]*149age of 16, would be to have proper labelling and to sell it only to competent persons and not to minors, who are sometimes irresponsible. Plaintiffs contend that the standard of care would further require that if a druggist did sell these chemicals to 16-year-olds, he caution them on the use of combinations of the chemicals and to make very plain the dangerous properties of the mixture; that, furthermore, if the druggist knew the chemicals would be used in preparing rocket fuel, the standard of care would require that he caution purchasers of this age very strongly as to the properties potassium chlorate has when combined with other chemicals; that if the druggist sold sulphur and charcoal knowing they were to be used with potassium chlorate as rocket fuel the standard of care would call for the druggist to caution very highly on the danger of combining those chemicals; and that if the druggist should sell potassium chlorate alone to a 16-year-old boy the standard of care would require the druggist to warn of the dangerous combustible properties of the drug.

Terrance Krueger testified that defendant Wohlers placed the potassium chlorate in a paper bag. There was other testimony that this was not the usual way of dispensing that chemical. Defendant Wohlers denies any knowledge of selling potassium chlorate to the boys.

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Bluebook (online)
111 N.W.2d 526, 261 Minn. 144, 1961 Minn. LEXIS 624, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/krueger-v-knutson-minn-1961.