Gonzales v. Caterpillar Tractor Co.
| Decision Date | 11 October 1978 |
| Docket Number | No. B-7440,B-7440 |
| Parties | Santiago GONZALES et al., Petitioners, v. CATERPILLAR TRACTOR COMPANY, Respondents. |
| Court | Texas Supreme Court |
Page Keeton, Austin, Gochman & Weir, Warren Weir, John Scarzafava and Charles Herring, Jr., Clark, Thornton & Summers, W. Burl Brock, San Antonio, for petitioners.
Wiley, Plunkett, Gibson & Allen, Robert A. Allen and Ronald Hornberger, San Antonio, for respondents.
Santiago Gonzales suffered back injuries when he fell from a step on a Caterpillar tractor. He brought this suit against Caterpillar alleging a design defect in the step and negligent design of the step. Judgment was rendered on the jury verdict in favor of Gonzales for $252,991.05. 1 On appeal by Caterpillar, the Court of Civil Appeals reversed and rendered judgment that Gonzales take nothing in his suit. The court held there was no evidence of either a design defect or of negligent design. 562 S.W.2d 573. We reverse the judgment of the Court of Civil Appeals and remand the cause to that court.
The Caterpillar product involved in this accident was a Model 941 "Traxcavator." It is a tractor designed to operate primarily as a front-end loader. A large shovel assembly is attached for lifting dirt and other material from the ground. The tractor is mounted on tread or tracks similar to those commonly seen on military tanks. It is designed to operate in muddy or other adverse conditions where wheeled vehicles would not be workable. The machine is controlled from a work station atop the vehicle which contains the operator's seat and the controls for steering and operating the shovel.
Ingress and egress to and from the work station is accomplished by use of a step mounted on the side of the Traxcavator. The step is located on the undercarriage and is made from a strip of "angle iron" or sheet metal bent into a "U" shape. The open ends of the "U" are welded to the Traxcavator between the upper and lower treads, so that only the narrow edge of the metal strip is used as the step. The rear portion of the "U" is approximately 10 inches across, and a depression of some 8 inches in width is cut in this portion. The purpose of the depression is to prevent the foot from slipping sideways and off the step. The step is designed so that it does not extend outward from the Traxcavator farther than the treads and it is necessary for the operator, while dismounting, to lean away from the vehicle to locate the step. Handholds or "grabirons" are mounted near the work station for the operator to utilize while mounting or dismounting.
Gonzales was dismounting the Traxcavator when this accident occurred. He testified that he was holding firmly to the handholds when he leaned back and placed his foot on the step; and that his foot slipped which caused him to fall. Gonzales was operating the machine at a "caliche pit" on the morning in question and he testified that the ground was very muddy. This testimony was corroborated by a co-worker. Gonzales and the co-worker also testified that mud collected by the track was carried over the step upon rotation of the tread, and that considerable quantities of the mud dropped on the step.
In his trial pleading, Gonzales alleged that the step was defective in four respects in design, and that Caterpillar was guilty of five separate acts of negligence in the design. The alleged defects in design were (1) the step could not be seen by the operator as he was dismounting; (2) the operator was required to lean away from the machine in order to reach the step when dismounting; (3) no adhesive or antiskid material was placed on the step to prevent slippage; and (4) the step was located in such position that mud and dirt adhering to the tread was deposited on the step as the tread revolved. The alleged acts of negligence were in designing the step in these respects, and additionally, in failing to alter the design and placement of the step to cure these alleged defects.
The question of defective design was submitted to the jury in the following form:
The jury answered that the step was defectively designed which was a producing cause of the occurrence in question. The jury further found that Gonzales did not assume the risk of the defective design.
The question of negligence was submitted to the jury as follows:
The jury answered that the step was negligently designed which was a proximate cause of the occurrence. The jury refused to find that Gonzales was contributorily negligent.
As noted above, the essential holdings of the Court of Civil Appeals were that there was no evidence of a design defect and no evidence of negligent design. The correctness of these rulings is the ultimate question to be resolved.
The trial court defined "unreasonably dangerous" in terms of the ordinary user. Cf. General Motors Corporation v. Hopkins, 548 S.W.2d 344 (Tex.1977), and Henderson v. Ford Motor Co., 519 S.W.2d 87 (Tex.1974). There is no complaint of this manner of submission. The question, then, is whether there was evidence that the Model 941 Traxcavator when sold for its intended use was in a defective condition unreasonably dangerous to Gonzales as an ordinary user. See, Green, Strict Liability Under Sections 402A and 402B: A Decade of Litigation, 54 Tex.L.Rev. 1185, 1205-1210 (1976).
Considerable testimony was presented to the jury with respect to the accumulation of mud on and around the step. Gonzales, his co-worker, his expert witness, his employer, and the engineers testifying for Caterpillar, stated that during operation of the Traxcavator in muddy conditions, mud picked up by the track would fall on and around the step. There was also testimony from witnesses presented by Gonzales and by Caterpillar that mud deposited on and around the step would cling to the undercarriage of the vehicle and would continue to build up until it eventually covered the step. William A. Boyd, the County Commissioner for whom Gonzales worked, described the problem caused by the accumulation of mud as follows:
"Q. Have you ever gotten off the machine, when there wasn't any mud packed in, but when dirt or debris was in the step?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Have you ever kicked dirt aside or
A. Well, if it's loose dirt, you might kick it off with your toe, but if it's packed on there, you can't get it off. It's packed against the machine, because the whole when you step, it goes against well, the track housing under there, where it holds the dirt."
William E. Conroy, the supervising engineer in the design of the Model 941 Traxcavator, testified:
"Q. You would agree with Mr. Piepho that sometimes that particular step gets covered with mud that adhers (sic) to that surface?
A. There is mud that collects on the undercarriage.
Q. You've seen that?
A. Yes. I have.
Q. And you have seen mud completely cover the step; have you not?
A. With the machine operating, yes. I have seen it, you know, buried in mud.
Q. Now, when the machine is operating and the mud's going around on the track, tell the jury where the operator is?
A. Pardon? Would you please repeat?
Q. The operator is up in the operators' station; isn't he?
A. Yes.
Q. When the machine is being operated?
A. Yes.
Q. And the mud is being brought up and then dropped in that general track area; is it not?
A. Yes. Okay.
Q. And in that comports with your experience; doesn't it?
A. Yes.
Q. And if the step is covered, or the track is largely covered in mud, as you've testified you say you've seen the Caterpillar 941, the step is pretty useless at that point; isn't it?
A. I think it depends on the nature of the material. It would be...
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