Marshall v. Clark Equipment Co.
| Decision Date | 24 June 1997 |
| Docket Number | No. 79A05-9510-CV-420,79A05-9510-CV-420 |
| Parties | Prod.Liab.Rep. (CCH) P 15,112 Tracy A. MARSHALL, Appellant-Plaintiff, v. CLARK EQUIPMENT COMPANY and Clark Lift Corporation of Indiana, Appellees-Defendants. |
| Court | Indiana Appellate Court |
Tracy Marshall appeals the judgment entered in favor of the defendant-appellees, Clark Equipment Company and Clark Lift Corporation (collectively "the Appellees"). Marshall is seeking damages for an injury sustained while operating a forklift. He raises three issues for our review which we consolidate and restate as whether the trial court properly instructed the jury. We affirm. 1
The facts most favorable to the judgment follow. On January 19, 1991, Marshall worked at the Subaru-Isuzu automotive assembly plant in Lafayette, Indiana. During the day, Marshall operated a stand-up forklift, which was designed and manufactured by the Appellees. At the end of his shift, Marshall drove the forklift back to the maintenance garage. Although the forklift had two pedals, one for each foot, Marshall operated both pedals with his right foot and allowed his left foot to rest outside the driver's compartment. When Marshall backed the forklift into the garage, he was momentarily distracted by another worker. Before Marshall could stop the forklift, he backed into a steel post and crushed his left foot between the post and the forklift. Due to the severity of the injury, Marshall's foot was later amputated.
On September 16, 1992, Marshall filed a product liability action against the Appellees. When the Appellees filed an answer denying the allegations, Marshall amended his complaint. After further procedural activities, Marshall again amended his complaint, limiting his claim to an "enhanced injury" claim. Specifically, Marshall asserted that the Appellees were liable because they "did not equip the stand-up forklift involved in this accident with a rear door which would have prevented Tracy Marshall's foot from being cut off when [they] knew that such injuries were foreseeable and that a door on the rear of the forklift would prevent them from occurring." Record, p. 26.
On June 27, 1995, the trial court conducted a jury trial. After the presentation of the evidence, the parties tendered their proposed jury instructions to the trial court. Marshall tendered seven instructions, five of which the trial court refused. Thereafter, Marshall objected to the trial court's final instructions. On June 30, 1995, the jury returned a verdict in favor of the Appellees. Marshall now appeals.
The sole issue raised for our review is whether the trial court properly instructed the jury. Marshall argues that the trial court improperly denied two of his tendered instructions. In addition, he argues that the trial court erred in giving two of its instructions. We will address each of these arguments in turn.
Marshall first argues that the trial court erred when it failed to give his tendered jury instructions. The giving of jury instructions is a duty entrusted to the discretion of the trial court, and its decision will not be disturbed unless there is an abuse of that discretion. Morris v. K-Mart, Inc., 621 N.E.2d 1147, 1148 (Ind.Ct.App.1993), reh'g denied, trans. denied. A party is generally entitled to have a tendered instruction read to the jury. Id. On review, we will reverse the trial court's refusal to give a tendered instruction when (1) the instruction is a correct statement of law, (2) it is supported by the evidence, (3) it does not repeat material adequately covered by other instructions, and (4) the substantial rights of the tendering party would be prejudiced by the failure to give the instruction. Underly v. Advance Mach. Co., 605 N.E.2d 1186, 1191 (Ind.Ct.App.1993).
Marshall first challenges the trial court's denial of his tendered instruction # 6, which provided:
Contrary to Marshall's contention, this tendered instruction does not correctly state the law in Indiana. In his brief, Marshall admits that there are no Indiana cases which directly support his tendered instruction. Instead, Marshall contends that his tendered instruction is consistent with "Indiana's Product Liability Act and the case law that has interpreted the Act." Appellant's brief, p. 17. However, a review of this authority reveals that it does not support such a contention.
In Indiana, actions for strict liability in tort are governed by the Product Liability Act, Ind.Code §§ 33-1-1.5-1, et seq. York v. Union Carbide Corp., 586 N.E.2d 861, 867 (Ind.Ct.App.1992); see Senco Prod., Inc. v. Riley, 434 N.E.2d 561, 567 (Ind.Ct.App.1982), reh'g denied. The section imposing strict liability provides in part:
"(a) ... a person who sells, leases, or otherwise puts into the stream of commerce any product in a defective condition unreasonably dangerous to any user or consumer or the user's or consumer's property is subject to liability for physical harm caused by that product to the user or consumer or to the user's or consumer's property if that user or consumer is in the class of persons that the seller should reasonably foresee as being subject to the harm caused by the defective condition, and if:
(1) The seller is engaged in the business of selling such a product; and
(2) The product is expected to and does reach the user or consumer without substantial alteration in the condition in which it is sold by the person sought to be held liable under this chapter.
(b) The rule stated in subsection (a) applies although:
(1) The seller has exercised all reasonable care in the manufacture and preparation of the product; and
(2) The user or consumer has not bought the product from or entered into any contractual relation with the seller.
However, in any action based on an alleged design defect in the product or based on an alleged failure to provide adequate warnings or instructions regarding the use of the product, the party making the claim must establish that the manufacturer or seller failed to exercise reasonable care under the circumstances in designing the product or in providing the warnings or instructions."
Pursuant to this statute, the manufacturer is liable when it "puts into the stream of commerce any product without reasonable (adequate) warnings thereby leaving it in a condition unreasonably dangerous to any user, if such warnings could have been given in the exercise of reasonable diligence." Jarrell v. Monsanto Co., 528 N.E.2d 1158, 1166 (Ind.Ct.App.1988), reh'g denied, trans. denied. The failure to adequately warn cannot alter the basic nature of the product, but may render the product unreasonably dangerous. Id. While warnings cannot make a dangerous product safe, such warnings may avert liability. Id.
In Dias v. Daisy-Heddon, we addressed the circumstances under which the defendant can avoid liability by providing adequate warnings. Dias v. Daisy-Heddon, 180 Ind.App. 657, 660, 390 N.E.2d 222, 224 (1979), reh'g denied, trans. denied. In Dias, the plaintiff was injured by a pellet from a BB gun which was thought to be unloaded. In his complaint, the plaintiff claimed that the gun's instructions failed to adequately warn of potential dangers and that the gun was defectively designed because its loading mechanism was unreasonably dangerous. There was no dispute that if the instructions had been followed, then the gun would have been safely unloaded and there would have been no injury. During the trial, the plaintiff submitted a gun, which had an alternative design, and its instructions as an exhibit. The plaintiff sought to demonstrate that this gun was safer to unload than the gun used in the accident. The defendant's objection to the admission of this exhibit was sustained.
On appeal, we affirmed the trial court's decision to exclude the exhibit because neither the gun's instructions nor its design were the proximate cause of the plaintiff's injury. Id. at 666-667, 390 N.E.2d at 227. First, we addressed the adequacy of the instructions. Id. at 663, 390 N.E.2d at 225-226. We determined that the gun's instructions and warnings adequately informed the user how to safely unload the gun. Id. Specifically, we stated, "[w]here warning is given, the seller may reasonably assume that it will be read and heeded; and a product bearing such a warning, which is safe for use if it is followed, is not in defective condition, nor is it unreasonably dangerous." Id. at 662, 390 N.E.2d at 225 . We concluded that had the user of the gun followed the instructions, the gun would not have misfired causing an injury. Id. at 663, 390 N.E.2d at 225.
Next, we addressed whether the design of the gun was unreasonably dangerous. Id. at 665, 390 N.E.2d at 227. We determined that the trial court erred when it excluded the exhibit showing an alternative design for the gun. Id. We stated that "evidence of alternative design may be relevant to the question of whether the design in question is unreasonably dangerous." Id. at 664, 390 N.E.2d at 226. Nevertheless, we held that because other evidence of an alternative design was admitted, the exclusion of the exhibit did not constitute reversible error. Id. at 666, 390 N.E.2d...
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