$20 Million Verdict for Child Electrocuted in Virginia Power Substation

In the mid-1990s, a ten-year-old boy was playing near an apartment complex when a ball went over the fence surrounding a Virginia Electric and Power Company substation. He crawled through gaps in the fence to retrieve it. Once inside, he contacted 13,200-volt wires and suffered electrical burns across 25 percent of his body, including his face, chest, and arms.

The injuries required eight surgical operations and multiple skin grafts. Medical experts testified at trial that he would need at least eight additional reconstructive procedures. Permanent scarring and disfigurement, along with ongoing physical and psychological therapy, defined the years that followed.

Attorneys Jeffrey Breit and Michael Imprevento, joined by co-counsel A. Donald McEachin, argued that Virginia Power had allowed the perimeter fence to fall into disrepair, leaving gaps a child could pass through. The substation sat adjacent to a residential area and was accessible to neighborhood children. The firm presented evidence that the utility company knew or should have known the condition of the fence and that the hazard inside was lethal.

The jury returned a verdict of $20,000,000 in compensatory damages. Virginia Power moved to have the verdict set aside or reduced through remittitur to under one million dollars. The trial court denied the motion.

Virginia Power appealed to the Supreme Court of Virginia, which issued its opinion on September 17, 1999, under Record No. 982485. The court affirmed the judgment in full, finding no reversible error in the trial court's rulings on liability or damages. The $20 million award stood as returned by the jury.