The New York Times/1916/11/22/$11,000 Verdict for Widow
$11,000 VERDICT FOR WIDOW.
Husband Killed by Faulty Electrical Equipment.
Special to The New York Times.
RIVERHEAD, L. I., Nov. 21.—A jury in the Supreme Court here today gave to Mrs. Jessie A. Purick a verdict of $11,000 in her suit against the Port Jefferson Electric Light Company for $50,000 for the death of her husband, C. Fred Purick, a merchant of Port Jefferson. This is the largest verdict ever given in a damage action in Suffolk County. Mr. Purick was killed in the bath room of his home last January by coming into contact with a lighting fixture. The plaintiff showed that owing to defective equipment the wires entering the Purick home contained 2,300 volts, instead of 110.
Mrs. Harriot Stanton Blatch got a $5,000 verdict in an action against the same company last week for the death of her husband, William H. Blatch, who was killed on the lawn of Channing Pollock, the playwright, at Shoreham, in August, 1915. Mr. Blatch attempted to remove a wire that had fallen across the path. Mrs. Blatch sued for $100,000.
William Wheeler, superintendent of the Lighting Company, committed suicide with electrical current in the company’s plant last May, after he had been served with complaints in the damage suits.