—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, June 25, 1977
14
Product liability suits
EPHRATA, Pa.-Normal
standards of caution seem to
be suspended in many
product liability lawsuits.
Recently, a knife
manufacturer had to pay a
nine-year-old boy $150,000
after he drew one of their
knives across his wrist to
“see if it was sharp”.
Two men recently
received large damage
payments from a mower
manufacturer. They had
been injured after they
picked one of the firm’s
mowers off the ground and
used it to trim a hedge.
These examples are part
of a trend that could stifle
product improvements and
business growthaccording to
Donald W. Parke, executive
vice-president of PennAg
Industries Association.
PennAg is a trade
organization of some 400
Pennsylvania Agribusiness
firms.
Writing in the June issue of
Grist from the Mill, a
publication for PennAg
members, Parke said, “In
WHAT'S NEW
<
LOADER
MILWAUKEE,Wis. - A
new series of loaders from
Allis-Chalmers offers more
lift capacity and a higher
reach than any loader
previously available from
the company. Designed for
use with its line of over-100
hp tractors, the 470 series
loaders will lift 3500 pounds
to a height of 13% feet. The
loader is built with heavy
duty usage in mind, whether
N66S
MOLASSES?
r CALL
zook
* * MOLASSES CO.
<s> (215)273-3776
Box 160, Honey brook, Pa.
Feeding Cane Molasses
o'-° oN£ o Liquid or Dried
fA s Blackstrap Molasses
Baking Molasses-Table Syrup
PINTS - QUARTS - GALLONS
Wholesale - Retail
1963 there were 50,000
product liability suits
against U.S. manufacturers.
In 1971, there were 500,000
Last year’s figures are
expected to reach one
million - and those do not
include out of court set
tlements. Many of these
settelemnts border on the
ridiculous.”
Parke noted that he
became concerned about the
problem when he learned
from a number of PennAg
members that their product
liability insurance would not
be renewed. The insurer said
that it would not renew
policies covering any
operation where chemicals
were added to feed.
“Our response to this was
complete and unequivocal,”
Parke noted in his column.
“One point we made is that
everything in creation has
some chemical composition,
including com, and oats and
any other feed grain.
-“It doesn’t make sense to
talk about adding chemicals
to feed. Feed is a chemical.
it is handling dirt, manure or
big bales.
With a 62 inch reach, the
boom extends to place the
bucket where the operator
has a good view of his work.
The boom and bucket are
operated by the tractors’
hydraulic controls so there is
no need for an auxiliary
hydraulic pump. Steel
hydraulic tubing is factory
mounted inside in the boom
to provide the operator with
combining ingredients - or
chemicals, if you will - into a
scientifically balanced
ration is what the feed
business is all about.”
Behind the insurance
companies’ concerns and
skyrocketing court awards
lies an outmoded legal
precedent, according to
Parke, known as the doctrine
of strict liability. “This
means literally that the
manufacturer of a product is
responsible for any injury or
damage caused by his
product. It doens’t matter
when'the product was made,
whether its been altered, or
used contrary to in
structions. And it doesn’t
matter what the state of the
art was at the time of
manufacture.”
Parke said this had led to a
curious situation where
some manufacturers are
refusing to introduce new
models of their products,
even though they are
demonstrably safer.
“Lawsuits have been won by
people claiming that the
an unobstructed view, as
well as prevent possible
operating damage to the
tubing. Cylinder rods are
chrome plated to provide
long life.
Less than five minutes are
normally required to attach
or detach the loader. To
mount the loader, it is a
simple matter of connecting
the hydraulic coupler,
hydraulically engaging the
alignment pins, inserting the
lock pins and storing the
parking stands.
Loader mounting brackets
are attached to the tractor
axles to distribute stress to
the rear axles created from
large loads. Mounting
brackets may remain on the
tractor, as they are located
where they should not hinder
the use of the tractor with
most other tools.
Attachments available
with the 470 series loaders
include: 60 inch manure
bucket with dirt plate; 83
inch material bucket and
optional tines; 96 inch
‘border
mere introduction of a newer
model means the older
model was unsafe,” Parke
said.
Insurance companies can
no longer predict the nsk for
certain lines of coverage and
it’s causing an upheaval in
jtheir industry. But help may
•be on the way in the form of
two bills currently in the
Pennsylvania legislature.
Senate Bill 585 and House
Bill 749 are identical bills;
both have wide bi-partisan
sponsorship.
Under the proposed
legislation, the doctrine of
strict liability would not
apply to product damage
claims. Time limits on when a
suit could be brought would
be set. A suit could not be
brought after a certain
number of years following
the date of manufacture, or
after an alledged injury.
The proposed legislation
also spells out some rules of
evidence. A manufacturer
could not be sued if, at the
time of any user injury, the
bCb
material bucket with spill
guard; grapple over bucket;
bay grapple fork; hay
stacker for loose hay; boom
mounted round bale handler
and three point hitch bale
mover; 84 inch snow bucket;
and 96 inch dozer blade.
ON A N & M SILO
ERECTED DURING JULY
THE COMPANY THAT USES GREEN & WHI
ROOFS, THE BEST MATERIALS, AND EXPERIE!
CREW. INSURES QUALITY & BEAUTY DONE
TO YOUR SATISFACTION.
(Plant)
R.D. 1,
Box 268 A
Shermansdale,
Pa. 17090
717-582-4108
on redicnlous
product conformed to
prevailing designs and
safety standards or other
state of the art con
siderations. Evidence that a
product had been altered by
a user would be a defense for
the manufacturer. Advances
in product design could not
be used as evidence that
previous models had been
unsafe.
Punitive damages would
be prohibited, and there
would be limits on any at-
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DAIRY WHITE
-DRIES WHITE
-DOES NOT RUB OFF EASILY
-NO WET FLOORS
-IS COMPATIBLE WITH DISINFECTANT AND FLY SI
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Also Barn Cleaning Service
Available With Compressed
To have your barn cleaned with air it w
off dust, cob webs & lot of the old lime
keep your barn looking cleaner & whiter
MAYNARD L. BEITZ
Witmer, PA 17585 717-31
If no answer call Willard Beitzel 717-61
Barn spraying our business, not a si
Spraying Since 1961
HIGH PRESSURE WASHING Al
DISINFECTING POULTRY HOU:
SAVE
NEGLEY&
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tomey’s fees bas
percentage of an a
‘“Whie many 0 {
provision have vet
application t 0
members,” p ar
eluded, “we do
legislation is cet
start in providing
place for insurer
panics to do busing
help restore a c
predictability wl
help the whole
community.”
with
AND VEAL PENS.
(
Rose
01
717-'
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