Product Liability Attorney Will Discuss
‘Substantial Modification Defense’ at Fall Convention

Our members who manufacture farm equipment are keenly aware of, and concerned about, safety issues related to their products. They take measures to explain proper usage of their products to consumers who purchase them and encourage caution, but are those measures effective? Are they enough? And what liability, if any, do distributors face when injuries occur that involve their products?

In April the New York Court of Appeals issued a ruling in a product liability case that has far-reaching implications for equipment manufacturers. The plaintiffs—the family of a girl injured while helping her stepfather use a borrowed post hole digger—had earlier won an $8.8 million verdict against the digger’s manufacturer and the retailer who had sold the device. The defendants had requested a summary judgment, noting that the digger’s owner had removed the driveline safety shield, thereby substantially modifying it. The appeals court upheld the original verdict, reasoning that the equipment’s design made it “reasonably foreseeable” that the safety shield would fail, and that a user would remove it and not replace it.

So, what is “reasonably foreseeable”? And what can a manufacturer or vendor do to mitigate its product liability risk?

Learn more about this timely and vitally important topic at the Association’s 2014 Fall Convention. On Thursday, Nov. 6, Kenneth Ross, an attorney practicing in areas of product safety and product liability prevention, will discuss the New York post hole digger liability case and its ramifications for our members. Mr. Ross wrote an article on the “substantial modification defense” for the Ag Innovator Summer issue. Come hear in person how he advises manufacturers, distributors and suppliers, and bring your questions for him.

For more information about the convention, and to register online, visit FarmEquip.org/FC. S