Opinion ID: 1239694
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Misuse of machine.

Text: The trial court also concluded that directed verdict was proper by finding that plaintiff, at the time of his injury, had his feet on the edge of the hopper and was, therefore, using the defendant's crop blower for a purpose not intended by the defendant. The court relied upon the following emphasized portion of Wisconsin Jury Instructions, Civil 3260: `A manufacturer of a product who places on the market a defective product which is unreasonably dangerous to the user and which is expected to and does reach the user without substantial change in the condition in which it is sold, is regarded by law as negligent even though he has exercised all possible care in the preparation and sale of the product, provided the product was being used for the purpose for which it was designed and intended to be used.' (Underscoring added.) Wis J ICivil 3260. In Dippel v. Sciano (1967), 37 Wis. 2d 443, 460, 155 N. W. 2d 55, wherein this court adopted the rule of strict liability, it was observed: The defense of contributory negligence is available to the seller. The plaintiff has the duty to use ordinary care to protect himself from known or readily apparent danger. Defenses among others that suggest themselves are that the product must be reasonably used for the purpose for which it was intended; abuse or alteration of the product may relieve or limit liability, some products just naturally wear out in such a manner as to render them unsafe and as to others, the intended use can be coupled with inherent dangeranyone can cut his finger with a sharp knife or puncture it with a fishhook, and teeth can be damaged by the sugar in the consumption of soft drinks. In Spruill v. Boyle-Midway, Incorporated (4th Cir. 1962), 308 Fed. 2d 79, 83, 84, it was explained: . . . `Intended use' is but a convenient adaptation of the basic test of `reasonable foreseeability' framed to more specifically fit the factual situations out of which arise questions of a manufacturer's liability for negligence. `Intended use' is not an inflexible formula to be apodictically applied to every case. Normally a seller or manufacturer is entitled to anticipate that the product he deals in will be used only for the purposes for which it is manufactured and sold; thus he is expected to reasonably foresee only injuries arising in the course of such use. However, he must also be expected to anticipate the environment which is normal for the use of his product and where, as here, that environment is the home, he must anticipate the reasonably foreseeable risks of the use of his product in such an environment. These are risks which are inherent in the proper use for which his product is manufactured. . . . The trial court recognized that in general the crop blower was being used that day for an intended purpose (putting up silage), but it determined as a matter of law that just prior to the injury plaintiff was not reasonably using the crop blower. Under the facts of this case, we consider this was a matter to be considered by the jury in determining plaintiff's contributory negligence. Every manufacturer intends his machinery to be used safely. But it is not necessarily a complete defense to liability to show that the machine was being used otherwise. Under certain circumstances, misuse may constitute contributory negligence and thus be a factor in the comparison of negligence. It has been generally explained as follows: Foreseeable Use. Strict liability in tort has the consequence of relieving an injured party of the obligation of proving either breach of a warranty or negligence on the part of a defendant. This does not mean that the seller or manufacturer is an insurer with respect to the goods, since there are certain defenses which are available to strict liability in tort actions. While some cases, as will be seen later in the discussion on contributory negligence and assumption of the risk, seem to indicate that evidence of fault on the part of the plaintiff is not admissible by way of defense, it is a general proposition that a plaintiff, to recover in strict liability in tort, must establish that the product proved defective, and the injury occurred when it was used in a foreseeable manner. In other words, foreseeable use is a requirement for a case in strict liability in tort, just as it is in negligence or warranty cases. If the plaintiff can be shown to have used the product in a manner other than its intended use, and particularly if that abnormal use related to the occurrence of the injury, liability should not follow unless the abnormal use was itself foreseeable. One of the ingredients of the Greenman [3] decision was that the plaintiff was said to have proven that he was injured while using the product in a way it was intended to be used. This aspect of the lead case in strict liability in tort has been followed by many decisions. If, therefore, a steering mechanism manufactured for use with a thirty-five to fifty-horse power motor is modified for use with a seventy-five-horse power motor, the manufacturer should not be liable for a defect which shows up under such use. Alteration of a product in a manner not sanctioned by the manufacturer is a standard form of misuse, or phrased differently, is not a foreseeable use for the product, and strict liability in tort should not and does not generally apply. 2 Frumer, Products Liability, Scope of Strict Liability, pp. 3-297 to 3-301, sec. 16A (4) (d). Although the plaintiff testified he thought the machine was off, he still was misusing the machine by standing on the edge of the hopper and using it as a perch. Therefore, it becomes necessary for the jury to determine whether the defendant could reasonably foresee such misuse of its product. . . . [T]he manufacturer is not liable for injuries resulting from abnormal or unintended use of his product, if such use was not reasonably foreseeable. The issue is one of foreseeability, and misuse may be foreseeable. (Emphasis in original.) 1 Frumer, Products Liability, Abnormal Use, p. 351, sec. 15; and Spruill v. Boyle-Midway Incorporated, supra . The manufacturer saw fit to put a warning sign on the machine to warn of the danger of standing on it, and a warning to stay off the machine unless a seat or platform was provided. If the manufacturer was able to foresee the necessity of warning users to stay off the machine, it must have foreseen that under some circumstances users and others would stand on the implement. Thus, standing on the machine was a misuse of it, such as was foreseeable by the defendant and such misuse would not ipso facto bar recovery. Rather, it was an act to be appropriately considered by the jury in determining the contributory negligence of the plaintiff. In this case, whether the danger was apparent or not was disputed at trial. Both the jury and the trial court observed the machine. The plaintiff testified he did not see the fan running nor did he believe it was still running when he stepped onto the hopper of the crop blower. Therefore, under the facts of this case the question of the misuse of the machine rests upon the credibility of the witnesses and the reasonable inferences that could be drawn from the evidence presented, and is a proper issue for the jury to determine. We, therefore, conclude that the trial court erred in determining as a matter of law that the plaintiff was not reasonably using the implement for an intended purpose at the time of the injury.