The Price of a Falling Shutter
A father files a massive lawsuit against Senator W. C. Squire after an iron shutter falls on his young children.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Augustus Dittnock, the father of the two little children Elsie and Edwin Dittnock, who were so terribly injured by a falling shutter on August 11, yesterday brought two suits in the superior court on behalf of the children to recover heavy damages from Senator W. C. Squire, who owns the Squire-Latimer building from which the heavy iron shutter fell. The story of how the children, Edwin 9 and Elsie 3 years old, were playing in the alley back of the building when the loose iron shutter fell upon them and of their long fight for life is already well known. Dittnock claims in his complaints that the two children are yet in danger and are undoubtedly injured for life. On this ground he asks for $10,000 damages to the boy and $15,000 to the little girl.
“Dittnock... claims in his complaints that the two children are yet in danger and are undoubtedly injured for life.”
This suit highlights the hazardous conditions of early Seattle's rapidly built downtown infrastructure. The liability of property owners for the safety of public alleys remains a relevant topic in urban maintenance.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.