Hoepner v. City Eau Claire

Action by the plaintiff Wesley E. Hoepner to recover damages from the defendant city of Eau Claire arising out of personal
injuries sustained by the plaintiff on August 8, 1950. On the evening of that day, plaintiff was engaged in playing a game
of soft ball on a diamond, or playing field, constructed by the defendant city on a city playground. The ball game in which
plaintiff was injured was the first to have been played on such newly constructed playing field. In constructing the field,
the city graded the surface of the ground and filled in about 3 inches of soil consisting of a mixture of sand and clay. While the plaintiff was at bat, he hit the ball to the outfield, and while running between first and second base the cleat
of his shoe caught in an imbedded strand of wire and he was thrown to the ground, fracturing his leg. No witness saw the wire
prior to the accident, but afterward the center portion protruded one-fourth to one-half inch above the surface of the ground.
There is no explanation of how this piece of wire came to be imbedded in the soil comprising the soft ball diamond, or how
long it had been there prior to the accident. Before the ball game a city employee had raked the surface of the field along
the base lines and had not observed the wire.