Opinion ID: 315655
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: sufficiency of evidence to support joint causation

Text: 25 We first note that defendant does not argue that there was insufficient evidence of a defect in the Airdox shell to properly submit the question of manufacturer liability itself to the jury. Although plaintiff has the burden of showing the existence of a defect, a malfunction may itself, in the absence of abnormal use and reasonable secondary causes, be sufficient evidence of a defect to make the existence of a defect a jury question. MacDougall v. Ford Motor Co., 214 Pa.Super. 384, 257 A.2d 676 (1969); Greco v. Bucciconi Engineering Co., 407 F.2d 87 (3d Cir. 1969). This permissible inference simply changes plaintiff's burden (in the absence of significant independent proof of a defect to one of showing the likelihood that the accident was indeed caused by a malfunction. A plaintiff can satisfy this burden by negating the likelihood of other reasonable causes of the accident. We doubt that in the present case plaintiff has sufficiently negated the possibility that human error caused the accident to allow the accident by itself to evidence a malfunction. See Woods v. Pleasant Hills Motor Co., 219 Pa.Super. 381, 281 A.2d 649, 656 (1971); Kaczmarek v. Mesta Machine Co., 463 F.2d 675 (3d Cir. 1972); Finnie v. Ford Motor Co., 331 F.Supp. 321 (W.D.Pa.1971); McMeekin v. Gimbel Bros., Inc., 223 F. Supp. 896 (W.D.Pa.1963). See also Lindsay v. McDonnell Douglas Aircraft Corp., 460 F.2d 631, 640 (8th Cir. 1972). 11 We need not decide the question, however, since it is not raised on this appeal nor was it properly raised at trial. 12 26 We now come to defendant's narrower point, namely that the Employer was improperly dismissed at the close of the evidence because, contrary to the trial court's finding upon which the dismissal was necessarily based, the evidence would support a finding that the accident was jointly caused by a defect in the Airdox equipment and improper human intervention at the blowdown valve. 13 After a careful review of the entire record, we agree with the trial judge that no such inference would have been permissible. The problem with such a finding of concurrent causation is that even if there were sufficient evidence in the record to support the finding of a defect, such a finding is permissible only in the absence of a finding of human intervention. Given a finding of human intervention at the blowdown valve, the accident does not in itself provide support for the finding of a malfunction, which is necessary to support the inference of a defect. 27 Nor are we persuaded that there is enough independent evidence of a defect, aside from the happening of the accident, to permit a finding of a defect concurrently with a finding of human intervention at the valve. Taylor's experiments on the suspect shell and valve were uncontradicted. Furthermore, the relatively minor incidents involving air retention by a shell, although of some probative value of a defect when combined with a permissible finding of a malfunction, are by themselves rather insubstantial evidence of a defect. None of the incidents involved the normal operational full force blast, and none therefore involved the rapid buildup of new air in a shell, as opposed to a residual release of air remaining after an explosion. 14 III. THE ASSUMPTION OF RISK DEFENSE 28 Defendant's counsel initially requested an assumption of risk charge on the theory that when plaintiff violated safety regulations by operating the Airdox system together with Davis, he assumed the risk that someone at the valve would prematurely explode the shell. 15 The trial judge thought the charge was superfluous, since assumption of this risk would be irrelevant under the only finding that would allow recovery, namely that the manufacturer alone caused the accident. Defendant's counsel accepted this proposition and dropped his request for an assumption of risk charge. There is no contention that the trial judge did not charge in accordance with his statement which induced counsel to drop his request. By dropping the request, defendant waived his right to allege error on appeal. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 51; Stilwell v. Hertz Drivurself Stations, 174 F.2d 714 (3d Cir. 1949). In any event, since we agree that the evidence would not support a finding of joint causation of the accident, we also agree that an assumption of risk charge would have been superfluous for the reason stated.