Robertson v. Superior PMI, Inc.
| Decision Date | 11 June 1986 |
| Docket Number | No. 85-4264,85-4264 |
| Citation | 791 F.2d 402 |
| Parties | Prod.Liab.Rep.(CCH)P 11,048 Richard Troyce ROBERTSON, Plaintiff-Appellee, Cross-Appellant, and Employers Ins. of Wausau, Intervenor-Appellant, v. SUPERIOR PMI, INC., Defendant-Appellant, Cross-Appellee-Appellee. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit |
John G. McLure, Howard B. Gist, III, McLure & Pickels, Alexandria, La., for defendant-appellant, cross-appellee-appellee.
Daniel E. Broussard, Jr., Broussard, Bolton & Halcomb, Alexandria, La., for plaintiff-appellee, cross-appellant.
Appeals from the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana.
Before GOLDBERG, HILL and JONES, Circuit Judges.
The gruesome nature of accidents in the workplace never diminishes. This diversity case presents yet another tragedy. Nineteen year old Richard Robertson, an employee of Hunt Plywood Company, stood working at his station on Hunt's plywood assembly line. Not more than two feet "downstream" and to his right operated Superior PMI's automated "flying saw," whose novelty rested in its synchronization with the movement of the line and its attendant ability to clamp and then cut across the sheets of plywood as they moved along the line. Cut completed, clamp and saw returned upstream to clamp and cut exactly in the same place as before. Robertson's misfortune was to find his hand under the saw at the moment it clamped. His right hand crushed by the clamp and the four fingers severed by the undiscriminating teeth of the saw, Robertson sued Superior PMI.
In a bench trial, Robertson convinced the trial judge that the absence of a guard or some sort of device that would have prevented his hand from finding its way under the clamp rendered Superior's product defective. The trial judge also found that Robertson's conduct prior to his injury was negligent, and that his negligence contributed 35% to his injury. Applying comparative fault, the trial judge reduced Robertson's damages by 35%, and entered judgment against Superior for $520,807.22. 600 F.Supp. 790.
In his appeal, Robertson contends that the Louisiana Supreme Court's decision in Bell v. Jet Wheel Blast, 462 So.2d 166 (1985), which was decided after the district court's decision but prior to its entry of judgment, precludes the application of comparative fault in this type of products liability case. In its appeal, Superior claims that its saw was not defective. It also alleges error in the district court's refusal to find that Robertson had assumed the risk, in its refusal to consider any negligence on the part of Robertson's employer, and in its computation of damages. Concluding that the trial court was correct in everything but its decision to apply comparative fault, we modify the judgment to hold Superior liable for the full $801,241.88 in damages.
On the morning of July 8, 1981, Robertson was working for Hunt on an assembly "layup" line in its plywood manufacturing plant in Pollock, Louisiana. Hunt had both designed and built the assembly line compactly so as to save money and space at its plant. Hank Clark, manager of the Pollock plant, decided to incorporate a "flying saw" into the line because the flying saw reduced waste and more fully automated the assembly line.
The movement of the assembly line and the operation of the flying saw were synchronized by a common chain drive. This synchronization allowed the flying saw's upstream and downstream movement to be stopped automatically when the conveyor line was stopped. During the saw's cutting cycle, the flying saw would travel to its farthest upstream position, clamp the panel, and then cut as the material travelled downstream on the conveyor. At its farthest downstream position, the clamp, which was also a guard for the saw blade, would rise up and travel back upstream to the starting position. At the same time, the saw blade automatically lowered to a position beneath the conveyor line and accompanied the clamp upstream. There was no need for an operator to be near the flying saw, as automatic limit switches Hunt had purchased the flying saw, whose only application at the time was on a plywood layup line, from Superior. Although Superior manufactured entire layup lines, Hunt never considered buying the entire line from Superior. Superior also furnished Hunt with a control panel, and Hunt completed installation of the saw and the panel. Superior assisted in the wiring and start-up of the saw, though its serviceman offered no advice concerning safety.
made sure that the machine always clamped and cut at the same location on the conveyor.
Hunt placed the control panel approximately two feet upstream from the saw and three to four feet behind Robertson's station. By use of these controls, Robertson could stop and start either the saw or the entire assembly line. These controls were the only ones that could completely shut down the entire line and the saw.
Foot pedals also allowed some employees to stop and start the layup line by disengaging the chain drive to the conveyor. Disengaging the chain drive also halted the cutting cycle of the flying saw. The saw blade would still continue spinning, but the travel and movement of the clamp and saw would cease. These pedals were at the "core layers' " stations. The core layers--those persons whose job it was to place material between the sheets of veneer--used the pedals to stop the line so that they could straighten the sheets of veneer and the pieces of core.
As the district court found,
Many times a sheet turner such as Robertson would yell to a core layer to hold the line. The core layer would step on the foot pedals in order to stop the layup line, so that material could be straightened at his or another worker's station. This was the standard operating procedure for the workers on the layup line at Hunt, because not all work stations had these foot pedals. The workers stopped the line by use of the foot pedals rather than the control panel because it was more convenient and kept production at a higher level. Despite the high level of noise at the plant, this procedure had been successfully followed for a significant period of time by the employees at Hunt.
Finding of Fact, Rec. at 375-76. Hunt has no written procedures regarding the straightening of materials on the line.
Robertson's responsibilities were to place the last sheet of veneer on the four by eight foot panels, check the alignment of the panel materials to prevent any jam-ups as the panels encountered the saw, and shut down the saw if any jam-ups occurred. All of this proceeded at the rate of eight panels per minute.
In the seconds prior to the accident, Robertson noticed a broken piece of core material sticking out from between the veneer on the opposite downstream corner of the material. Fearing a jam-up if the material entered the saw, Robertson yelled to Allen Hebert, who worked at the closest core layer's station eight to ten feet upstream, to stop the conveyor line. The layup line stopped. Thinking that Hebert had stopped the line for him and that all was safe, Robertson stretched across the four-foot wide sheets of veneer and core lying on the conveyor. With his right hand he then attempted to straighten the material.
The layup line had actually been stopped, however, by someone other than Hebert and for reasons other than to allow Robertson to carry out his task. When the other core layer had accomplished his purpose, he freed his foot pedal. Since Hebert had not depressed his pedal control, the conveyor line began to move.
The flying saw was in the up position, about 1 to 1 1/2 feet downstream from Robertson's right hand, when the layup line was restarted by the worker who had previously stopped the line for another reason. Robertson, who was leaning on his right hand, lost his balance so that his right hand was pinned between the layers of material. His hand was then pulled toward the flying saw by the downstream motion of the conveyor line. The flying saw moved upstream. The flying saw clamp, which holds the veneer Finding of Fact, Rec. at 377.
and core for cutting and serves as a guard and shield for the saw blade, came down and clamped Robertson's hand. The flying saw made its cut exactly at the same place on the conveyor as it always did. Robertson's right hand was crushed by the clamp and his four fingers were severed by the saw blade.
Two hours after the accident, Hunt installed a metal safety screen across the layup line and between the saw and Robertson's station. As the district court commented, "[t]his added feature makes it difficult for a worker in Robertson's position to reach under the screen and is a visible warning of the danger existing beyond the screen." Rec. at 378.
To recover in Louisiana from a manufacturer under strict products liability theory, the plaintiff must prove:
(1) that the injury or damage resulted from the condition of the product; (2) that the condition made the product unreasonably dangerous to normal use; and (3) that the condition existed at the time the product left the control of the manufacturer or supplier.
Bell v. Jet Wheel Blast, 462 So.2d 166, 168 (La.1985).
A product may be unreasonably dangerous because of its design for any one of three reasons: (1) A reasonable person would conclude that the danger-in-fact, whether foreseeable or not, outweighs the utility of the product. This is the same danger-utility test applied in determining whether a product is unreasonably dangerous per se.... (2) Although balancing under the risk-utility test leads to the conclusion that the product is not unreasonably dangerous per se, alternative products were available to serve the same needs or desires with less risk of harm; or, (3) Although the utility of the product outweighs its danger-in-fact, there was a feasible way to design the product with less harmful consequences.... In...
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