Lobermeier v. General Telephone Company of Wisconsin

Facts

On July 19, 1976, plaintiff Bruce Lobermeier sustained a ruptured eardrum with resulting hearing loss while talking on a telephone in his parents’ home during a lightning storm. The telephone was installed and maintained by defendant General Telephone Company of Wisconsin. Lightning struck the telephone system, and an electrical charge was conducted through the improperly grounded telephone to the receiver, singeing Lobermeier’s hair and rupturing his eardrum. Doctors initially prescribed conservative treatment with antibiotics and ear drops for four months. When the tympanic membrane did not heal spontaneously, Dr. Aguas performed a tympanoplasty in November 1976, grafting a substitute membrane over the eardrum. Subsequently, the graft lateralized, causing severe conductive hearing loss and potential development of cholesteatoma, a dangerous condition that could lead to vertigo, deafness, brain abscess, or facial paralysis. Defendant admitted during trial that it was negligent in failing to properly ground the telephone system according to its own regulations, the Wisconsin Administrative Code, and the National Electrical Code. The primary dispute at trial concerned whether this negligence caused plaintiff’s injuries and whether plaintiff had a duty to undergo second surgery to mitigate damages.