(This story was originally written and recorded for Retrocast 35, released on August 19, 2025.)

On Monday, February 9, 1948, a Los Angeles, California jury heard testimony related to a lawsuit brought by the parents of 13-year-old Edward Joseph Conradson.

They sought $75,725 (~$1 million today) in damages from milk truck driver Hugo Nielsen and his employer, the Silver Shield Dairy.

According to the complaint, on July 7, 1946, Edward was riding on the side of Nielsen’s milk truck, clinging to a crate of empty milk bottles.

Then, as the truck rounded the corner of Johanna and Macbruin Streets, Edward had nothing firm to hold on to, and he went flying in a straight line to the hard road surface below. (I believe the street names were misreported, since neither of those exists in Google Maps. It was most likely the corner of Johanna Avenue and McBroom Street.)

As one would expect, the parents were suing for the injuries that Edward received in the accident.

But his injuries were quite unusual.  They insisted that the accident had damaged his pituitary gland, which caused a sudden growth spurt in Edward.

His parents claimed that prior to the accident, the boy was just 5’2” tall and weighed 150 lbs. (~158 cm, 68 kg), but now he stood 6’-1/2”, 197 lbs. (~184 cm, 84 kg).

Supposedly, no one else in his family had what the press was calling gigantism. Mom was 5’4” tall, 145 lbs. (~163 cm, 66 kg), 26-year-old sister Mary was 5’7”, 130 lbs. (170 cm, 59 kg), and 18-year-old brother Jewett was 5’11” tall and weighed in at 145 lbs. (~180 cm, 66 kg.)

Clearly, there wasn’t much height difference between the two brothers, but their parents argued that Edward was unusually tall for his young age.

If you were sitting on this jury, which way would you decide?

The jury returned a verdict in just seventeen minutes. They ruled in favor of the dairy, meaning that the Conradsons received nothing for their son’s sudden growth spurt.