TITLE AND CITATION:
Darwin Kruse, Appellant, v. Coos Head Timber Company, Respondent 432 P.2d 1009

RESEARCH PROCESS:
A coworker of mine who attends Duquesne Law School helped me locate this case. I went to the law school library with him to find and print the case from the database. I used Google Scholar and Lexis Nexis to find the article relating to the legal concept this case addresses.
NATURE OF THE CONTROVERSY: Darwin Kruse, an employee of Coos Head Timber Company, was suing his employer because he claimed he lacked sufficient mental capacity to understand the compensation agreement he signed after suffering injuries from an accident at work.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY:
This case was brought before the court because Darwin Kruse, an employee of Coos Head Timber Company, is seeking to recover damages for injuries he suffered as a result of an accident he had at work. Darwin Kruse, the appellant, was removing rock from the inside of a base of an elevator mechanism. While doing so, the tower vibrated and a piece of wood from the top of the tower fell and struck him on the back of the head. After the accident, Mr. Kruse signed a compensation agreement with his employer, Coos Head Timber Company. In the agreement he received compensation for the accident and released his employer from any further claims for damages. Mr. Kruse claimed the agreement should not be enforced because he entered into it under circumstances of fraud and misrepresentation. Mr. Kruse also argued that the compensation agreement should not be enforced because he lacked sufficient mental capacity because he was mentally retarded and suffered from posttraumatic psychoneurosis as a result of the accident. Additionally, Mr. Kruse accused his employer of common law negligence and violating the Employers’ Liability Act. In the trial court, the jury found in favor of Coos Head Timber