Warner Fruehauf Trailer Company, Inc. v. Boston

654 A.2d 1272 (1995)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

P, a supervising mechanic for PEPCO, was injured on the job due to the malfunction of a liftgate attached to the back of a PEPCO truck. After they had used the liftgate to remove some heavy objects from the truck, and P's crew member had returned the liftgate platform to, or at least near, the vertical 'closed' position at the back of the truck, P approached the liftgate to attach the safety chains. The liftgate suddenly malfunctioned, and the 1050-pound metal platform fell free, striking P and injuring his hip. By expert testimony, P established that the one-cylinder hydraulically-controlled liftgate was defectively designed and unreasonably dangerous in that it had no backup system to prevent a free-fall of the heavy tailgate in the event of a mechanical failure. The second trial held before a jury of six and Judge Shuker concluded that, as a matter of law, the liftgate was defectively designed and unreasonably dangerous and that no reasonable juror could find that P had assumed the risk of being injured by it. He, therefore, directed a verdict in favor of Ps as to liability. The jury awarded a total of $550,000.00. D appealed.