Court Opinion

ID: 9632606
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 11:20:13.844712+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:08:19.662827
License: Public Domain

Schroeder, C.J.,
dissenting: This is a products liability action brought in strict tort liability, Restatement (Second) of Torts § 402A (1965), by plaintiff Don Siruta (plaintiff) against defendant Hesston Corporation (defendant) for personal injuries suffered when plaintiff s left hand and forearm became entangled and wrapped in the belt of a hay baler manufactured and sold by defendant.
The products liability law written in the opinion of the court establishes absolute liability for injury to the user of a Hesston Model 5800 large round hay baler uninhibited by the facts. *670Admissions of the plaintiff and exhibits introduced into evidence by the plaintiff establish physical facts which under Kansas law existing at the time this accident occurred require reversal and entry of judgment for the defendant.
An analysis of the facts giving rise to the plaintiff s accident in this case requires a thorough understanding of the design and operation of this highly complicated piece of farm machinery, the Hesston Model 5800 large round hay baler, which is the product involved in this action. To establish a foundation for my discussion, illustrations introduced into evidence as exhibits by the plaintiff are incorporated in this opinion with identifying letters added to facilitate an understanding and comprehension of the facts.
The defendant manufactured Model 5800 balers from October 8, 1975 to August 17, 1979, and the baler involved in this case was manufactured in December 1977. Plaintiffs Exhibit No. 22 is the Hesston Farm Equipment operator’s manual for the “5800 Rounder” hay baler. It is a complete 48-page manual with illustrations, explanations and instructions on operation of the hay baler which is the subject of this action. This baler is a large and complex piece of mechanized farm equipment that is 13 feet 2 inches long, 8 feet 9 inches high, 7 feet 8 inches wide, and weighs 3,910 pounds. It is powered by a tractor’s power take-off unit, and every phase of the baling process from forming the bale to wrapping the bale with twine to unloading the completed bale from the baler is done by one person sitting on the tractor seat. The basic operation of the baler is best described with reference to Figures 1 and 2. These are illustrations taken from plaintiff s Exhibit No. 22.

*671

Figure 1 is a side view which depicts the baler at the start of the bale-forming process. Crop material is picked off the ground by the pickup assembly and carried between the feeder roller on the bottom and the pressure roller on top to an area above the two steel platform rollers and below nine 4-inch wide bale-forming belts spaced across the width of the baler. Each belt is 480 inches long (40 feet long). (Plaintiffs Exhibit No. 22.) The ends of each belt are spliced together to form a completed loop of the belt that moves continuously around the .outside of the baler in a clockwise direction, as shown in Figure 1. The arrows marked on the belt are precisely as illustrated in the operator’s manual showing the direction of travel of the bale-forming belts when the baler is in operation. The direction of travel of these belts is vitally material to a proper consideration of the evidence in this case. The movement of the platform rollers on the bottom and of the belts on top causes the crop material to rotate in a counterclockwise direction, forming the core of the bale.

*672

Figure 2 depicts the baler with the bale at approximately one-half its ultimate size. This is the approximate size of the bale in the baler when plaintiff s accident occurred. References “A” through “H” have been added to Figure 2 to facilitate description. As crop material is continuously fed into the baler and grows larger, the belts go from the bottom-most tailgate idler roller “A” around the circumference of the bale to the bottommost belt drive roller “B” and then up to the inside upper belt drive roller “C”. From there the belts double back and forth between the three front center rollers “C,” “D” and “E” and the three upper rollers on the end of the belt tightener arms “F,” “G” and “H”, and from there around the outside rear of the baler back down to the bottom-most tailgate idler roller “A.” Thus, the additional length of belt necessary to go around the ever-increasing circumference of the bale is created by the gradual movement of the belt tightener arms on each side of the baler forward and downward, thereby reducing the distance and length of belts between the three front center rollers “C,” “D” and “E” and the three upper rollers at the end of the belt *673tightener arms “F,” “G” and “Ft”. This movement of the belt tightener arms downward across the front of the baler is responsible for a statement made by the defendant’s expert witness that it was not feasible to put a bar across the top front of the baler. When the bale reaches full size and has been wrapped in twine, the entire rear half of the baler swings out away from the bottom and the bale falls out onto the ground.
One delicate aspect of operating the baler involves the initial starting of the bale. Crop material is formed in windrows on the ground prior to baling and then the baler picks up material from the windrows. In order to start a bale properly, the operator must be careful to get the crop material evenly distributed across the width of the baler so that the crop material will create pressure against all nine belts and thus cause all of them to turn. If the crop material is not evenly distributed in the baler, some or all of the belts may not turn. Therefore, the operator will often have to weave back and forth across the windrow in order to distribute the hay evenly in the baler. If the bale is not properly started and as a result one or more belts do not turn, or become tangled off to one side, then the operator will have to discharge the malformed bale and start a new bale. The plaintiff testified he was aware of this characteristic of the baler.
The plaintiff is an experienced farm employee who has worked since 1958 for the Keller Brothers partnership and, after the dissolution of that partnership in December 1979, as a foreman for Ben Keller, who was operating 25,000 acres in his farming operations. The accident occurred on November 12, 1979, while plaintiff was working alone baling Sudex Cane in a field southwest of Russell Springs. The Sudex was taller than the plaintiff when it was cut and put in windrows for baling. The temperature was below freezing and plaintiff was wearing heavy clothing. By 3:00 p.m. he had completed approximately 100 bales, each bale weighing between 1,000 and 1,200 pounds. He had a bale half completed in the baler when he noticed that the bale had stopped turning. The accident occurred shortly thereafter, and the next day his left hand and forearm were found wrapped in a broken belt around the inside upper belt drive roller “C” (Figure 2). The outermost belt on the left side of the baler (as used throughout my opinion and at trial, the left side of the baler is the left side as one stands to the rear of the baler and looks forward toward the baler and, beyond it, the tractor) had *674broken at the splice and had completely wrapped itself around the inside upper belt drive roller. Plaintiff s hand was found a couple of belt wraps away from the surface of the roller with the fingers pointing toward the left side of the baler. The great bulk of the belt, other than the first couple of wraps, was wrapped repeatedly around both the roller and his hand.
Plaintiff s case was presented to the jury on the theory that while plaintiff was standing about three feet away from the left front of the baler, the outermost belt on the left side broke, snapped out in front of the frame of the baler, and “bull-whipped” plaintiffs arm into the baler; thus, the breaking of the belt constituted a manufacturing defect, the absence of a protective shield over the front of the baler constituted a design defect, and the absence of a specific warning about such “bullwhip-ping” constituted a warning defect.
However, no evidence was introduced at trial to show that such “bullwhipping” had ever occurred either in this case or in any other case, whether involving a hay baler or any other machine. Plaintiff did not testify that he was “bullwhipped” into the baler; he simply said that he has no knowledge or recollection of how he got caught in the baler. According to plaintiff, he shut off the tractor when he noticed that the half-completed bale had stopped turning. He then walked around the baler checking the gears, chains and other equipment in an attempt to discover why the bale stopped turning. When he found no explanation, he turned the tractor back on and engaged the power take-off and then walked to a point three feet in front of the left front of the baler and one and one-half to two feet to the left of the power take-off housing. This view of the baler is shown in Figure 3 (plaintiff s Exhibit 3). From there he saw the belts slipping and not moving even though the power-driven rollers were turning. The belts slipping on the drive rollers were starting to smoke. Then all the belts started to turn and his left arm was suddenly caught in the baler. When he finally pulled himself out of the baler, his left hand and forearm were missing. At one point, he said that he thought he felt something hit him in the back (he was facing the baler), but he consistently denied having any knowledge or recollection of anything grabbing him and pulling him into the baler. Thus, plaintiff s testimony was consistently that he was standing in front of the baler and did not see a belt or anything else snap out of the baler toward him and he does not *675know or recall how he got into the baler. In addition, every witness who was asked about such occurrences testified that he had never heard of an accident in which a belt snapped out of a machine and pulled a person into the machine. Those witnesses who had seen a belt break on a baler testified that the belt fell out to the rear of the baler.
In addition, no evidence was introduced at trial that it is physically possible with respect to a Model 5800 baler for a belt to snap out of the baler and “bullwhip” a person into the baler. Although a video tape of the baler in operation was made under the supervision of plaintiff s expert witness Gary Robinson, all participants in that video taping testified that nobody attempted to break a belt or make any other tests to determine whether such “bullwhipping” was possible. Defendant conducted tests involving the breaking of a belt while a baler was running and was unable to produce any such “bullwhipping” effect.
Gary Robinson, who had obtained a bachelor’s degree in business, testified for the plaintiff that while most of his expertise was based on experience, it was in part based on an industrial safety course he had taken at Michigan State University. He claimed that his expertise in product safety is based solely on his experience as an accident and safety investigator for various insurance companies and for the Pontiac Motor Division of General Motors Corporation.
Robinson testified that as a general proposition “when a belt breaks and it is under tension, that it is going to whip or fly away from the power transmission.” He testified that whether a particular belt would in fact do so is a function of many variables such as the r.p.m. of the transmission, the speed of the belt, the amount of tension or pressure on the belt, and even the climate and type of crop material in the baler. However, with respect to the issue of whether the belt on the Model 5800 baler did or even could have whipped out and grabbed a person standing three feet away from the baler, he admitted that (1) he performed no tests on the baler, on the belt, or on the splice that broke; (2) he made no measurements of the baler relating to any possible “bullwhipping(3) he did not consider any other possible explanations of how the accident might have happened; (4) he had no opinion where a belt on the Model 5800 baler would go if it broke during operation; (5) he had no opinion how the belt broke in this case; (6) he was not aware how much use the belt in *676this case had received prior to the accident; (7) he was unsure which of the baler s rollers were power-driven and which were not, and he was uncertain about how the power take-off worked and about the function of the torque tube and jack shaft on the left front of the baler; (8) he was not aware of the effect that an unevenly formed bale would have on the movement and operation of the belts; (9) he had never operated a baler; and (10) he had never heard of any case of a belt snapping outside of a machine and grabbing a person.
The plaintiff testified the speed of the tractor engine at the time of the accident was just a little over idle speed. The only evidence of the belt speed when the baler is operated at tractor engine speed of a little over idle is from the defendant’s witness Stanley Clark, an agricultural engineer. At this speed of the tractor engine Dr. Clark calculated the speed of the belt to be 2.5 miles per hour, which is approximately the normal walking speed of an adult person.
Over defendant’s objection, Robinson testified that in his opinion the Model 5800 baler was defective in part because “of the belt breaking and grabbing,” and that “if they had properly designed the belts, they would have been contained within the machine and would not have come out.” Yet, the sole basis for his assumption that the belts had snapped out and grabbed plaintiff, was his belief that plaintiff had described the accident in that manner. On direct examination, he testified:
“A. ... I have read since then that he was two or three feet away, when all of a sudden, just very suddenly and unexpectedly he was caught by the belt and was in the machine.
“Q. And what was the next thing that happened? Do you recall what he related to you?
“A. He was pulled into the machine itself.”
And on cross-examination:
“Q. As I understand it, you are saying that the belt, in your opinion, came out three feet like a bullwhip and got hold of his left arm and pulled the arm into the baler some three feet?
“A. Well, what I am saying is that is how it was explained to me as to how the accident occurred. I spent a day out there with him, and I had no reason to believe that it did not.”
Plaintiff testified both at deposition and at trial that he did not see a belt or anything else come out of the baler and that he does not know how he got into the baler.
The crucial evidence in this case is the broken belt. At the time *677of trial, the belt was in four pieces when counsel for both parties examined the plaintiff s witness Maurice Erwin, the brother-in-law of the plaintiff. Erwin was a farmer and went to the scene of the accident the day after it happened with the plaintiffs son Keith Siruta. Erwin described and demonstrated on an exhibit of the baler the location of the drive roller which had the outside left bale forming belt completely wrapped around it. He described the position of the plaintiff s left hand with its fingers pointing to the left protruding slightly outside the belt wrapping on the left side of the baler. He said there were two or three wraps of the belt around the roller with the plaintiff s hand lying on these few wraps with all of the remainder of the belt completely wrapped tightly over the hand and roller. In removing the belt he pulled the end through repeatedly to unwrap it. He had so much to pull through in the process of unwrapping the belt that he cut it in two pieces making a slanted cut across the belt. He said the belt had broken at the splicing.
Approximately one inch of the belt at each end which had the splicing hooks was cut from the belt and introduced in evidence as Exhibit 44. At trial counsel for both parties agreed to the admission of this exhibit and agreed that these belt ends were the splice ends on the belt when the accident occurred. This exhibit has been photographed in the Supreme Court Reporter’s office and is shown as Figure 4. It will be discussed later.
Assembling the four pieces of belt, which were displayed and used for demonstration purposes before the court and jury, and which are now before this court for review, into one continuous belt is quite simple. All pieces fit together and each cut across the belt aligns perfectly to show the full length of the belt in the exact condition it existed when the accident occurred. The two sides of the belt are distinguishable; the side which made contact with the Sudex being baled has more particles of hay imbedded into the rubber on the belt. Precisely five feet from one end of the belt with lacing hooks is a definite crease or fold mark squarely across the belt. This was described by Erwin as the fold or tuck which doubled the belt on the drive roller (“C,” Figure 2) and caused the wrapping process of the belt to begin. Another witness described the crease on the belt as one that will not come out, “like folding a paper permanently.” On the side of the belt in contact with the driver roller (“C,” Figure 2) for a distance of 11% inches, beginning from the fold and measuring *678toward the shorter end of the belt, is a shiny blackened smooth surface caused by friction of the belt on the drive roller while the roller was turning and the belt was at a standstill. (The diameter of the drive roller “C” [Figure 2] is four inches.) This shiny blackened smooth portion of the belt is quite distinctive in appearance from the remainder of the belt which has particles of Sudex and dirt imbedded in its surface. As heretofore related, the plaintiff described the belts as beginning to smoke just prior to the accident. The black rubber in this 11% inch shiny smooth area of the belt had almost completely worn down to the fibers in the belt.
The foregoing phenomena concerning the belt, which counsel for both parties explored to its fullest extent in the examination of various witnesses, are not controverted facts. They are established physical facts. What the plaintiff seems to ignore and the trial court failed to acknowledge is the fact that these phenomena concerning the belt disclose the precise location of the belt splice in the baler when the accident occurred. It is conceded by all parties that it was the splice in the belt that broke by pulling apart. With the drive roller “C” (Figure 2) turning in a clockwise direction when the power take-off on the tractor is engaged there is only one location of the belt in the baler which could have resulted in marking the.belt as it did just prior to the accident. This location of the belt in the baler is not a matter upon which a jury can be permitted to speculate.
Reconstructing the position of the belt on drive roller “C” (Figure 2) by using the fold or crease to double the belt under and around the roller in the direction the drive roller turns discloses that two laps of the belt go around the roller before it pinches between the next turn of the belt and the roller. From one-half to three-fourths of an additional turn of this drive roller with the fold pinched in will make only three laps of the belt on the roller because the other end of the belt at this time comes from the opposite direction in the wrapping process. Stated in other words, when the wrapping process begins each end will be pulled toward the drive roller upon which the belt is being wrapped from opposite directions.
At this point in the wrapping of the belt, with three laps of the belt around the roller, a blood stain appears on the outside of the belt, indicating the place where plaintiff s hand was located when the wrapping process covered his hand. This blood stain is *67939 inches from the shorter end of the belt. This corresponds with the testimony of plaintiff s witness Erwin when he said there were two or three wraps of the belt on the roller before plaintiff s hand was wrapped in the belt.
Plaintiff s counsel on redirect examination of Erwin had Erwin demonstrate the wrapping process of this belt by utilizing the fold or crease in the belt to wrap the belt around the arm of plaintiff s counsel in the presence of the court and jury.
At the time plaintiff s hand was cáught in the belt the location of the splice in the belt was at a point on the front of the half-formed bale, or tangled at the side of the bale. At that point in time the short end of the belt was required to travel at least one foot before it cleared drive roller “B” (Figure 2). In no event was either end of the belt free to lash out and pull the plaintiff into the baler prior to the time when plaintiff s hand was caught in the belt, at drive roller “C” (Figure 2). The short end of the belt, after wrapping of the belt began and after plaintiff s hand was caught, with 39 inches of the belt remaining to travel in the wrapping process, could not have cleared drive roller “B” (Figure 2) which is less than two and one-half feet from drive roller “C” (Figure 2). The long end of the belt, more than 30 feet from drive roller “C” (Figure 2) when the wrapping process began could not have traveled in the opposite direction around the back rollers of the baler in the wrapping process far enough to do any lashing out of the baler before plaintiff s hand was caught in the belt.

*680

In any event there could be no lashing of the belt out of the baler on the left side under idler roller “E” arid drive roller “D” (Figure 2) to strike plaintiff standing three feet from the baler as the short end of belt traveled from drive roller “B” to drive roller “C” (Figure 2) because the belt in the front of the baler on the left side from drive roller “B” to drive roller “C” (Figure 2) is guarded by' six bars or obstructions shown in Figure 3. These bars or obstructions are indicated by added arrows and letters to facilitate their description. “A” is a metal bar with tines running toward the pickup assembly known as a windguard; “B” is a heavy metal pipe which stabilizes the baler and to which the tongue of the baler is attached; “C” is the drive shaft, from the gear housing to the drive sprockets on the left of the baler, which is enclosed inside a stationary tube; “D” is a metal bar with metal fingers welded to it which are pointed down and inward toward the bale and serve as belt guides; “E” is a belt drive roller (“D” in Figure 2); and “F” is a belt idler roller (“E” in Figure 2).
The pinch point of drive roller “C” (Figure 2) where the belt turns over it is clearly guarded by location because of its position completely inside the baler.
*681The bar described as “D” in Figure 3 is more clearly disclosed in other exhibits. It is a bar across the width of the baler directly in front of drive roller “C” (Figure 2). Erwin in his testimony describing the difficulty he had unwrapping this belt, and in his testimony concerning the location of the roller where the belt was wrapped, said: “This is where it was, and you got some bars up in here.”
It cannot be successfully argued the short end of the belt, which broke at the splicing, came from the opposite direction. It could do so only if the belt which broke had been running on the wrong side of drive roller “C” (Figure 2). The plaintiff testified he had baled approximately 100 bales with no trouble before the accident happened. This clearly establishes that the belt was running on the proper side of the drive roller. Assuming arguendo that the short end of the belt came from the opposite direction, there would be at least three laps of the belt between the two sets of rollers in front of the baler to prevent either broken end of the belt from lashing out in front of the baler. The splice would be between drive roller “D” and the belt tightener roller “F” on Figure 2.
In 1976 our court in Brooks v. Dietz, 218 Kan. 698, 545 P.2d 1104 (1976), adopted the rule of strict liability in products liability cases as set out in § 402A Restatement (Second) of Torts. It reads:
“(1) One who sells any product in a defective condition unreasonably dangerous to the user or consumer or to his property is subject to liability for physical harm thereby caused to the ultimate user or consumer, or to his property, if
“(a) the seller is engaged in the business of selling such a product, and
“(b) it is expected to and does reach the user or consumer without substantial change in the condition in which it is sold.
“(2) The rule stated in Subsection (1) applies although
“(a) the seller has exercised all possible care in the preparation and sale of his product,
“(b) the user or consumer has not bought the product from or entered into any contractual relation with the seller.”
(Emphasis added.)
The court there said contributory negligence of the plaintiff is not a defense in an action based on the sale of a dangerously defective product when such negligence consists merely of fail*682ing to discover the defect in the product, or to guard against the possibility of its existence. On the other hand the form of contributory negligence which consists in voluntarily and unreasonably proceeding to encounter a known danger, and commonly passes under the name of assumption of risk, is a defense. If the user or consumer discovers the defect and is aware of the danger, and nevertheless proceeds unreasonably to make use of the product and is injured by it, he is barred from recovery.
Recently, this court in Lester v. Magic Chef, Inc., 230 Kan. 643, 641 P.2d 353 (1982), reaffirmed that Kansas is a § 402A jurisdiction for purposes of strict products liability and further announced its decision to follow the “consumer expectations” test for unreasonably dangerous defective conditions. This test is derived from Comment i to § 402A Restatement (Second) of Torts, which states in part:
“The rule stated in this Section applies only where the defective condition of the product makes it unreasonably dangerous to the user or consumer.
“. . . The article sold must be dangerous to an extent beyond that which would be contemplated by the ordinary consumer who purchases it, with the ordinary knowledge common to the community as to its characteristics.”
The court in. Lester also approved Instruction 15 given by the trial court. It states:
“Plaintiff, as one of her claims against the defendant, Magic Chef, relies upon the theory of strict liability. Likewise, defendant Magic Chef as one of its claims contends that the fabric and garment manufacturers and sellers, as well as the mobile home manufacturer and seller, are liable under the theory of strict liability.
“You are instructed that a manufacturer or a seller of a product is at fault under the theory of strict liability, provided you find the following five elements necessary to prove strict liability:
“1. That the manufacturer or seller was engaged in the business of producing or selling a product.
“2. That the product manufactured or sold was in a defective condition and unreasonably dangerous to persons who it was reasonably foreseeable would use the product.
“3. That the product was in a defective condition at the time it left the control of the manufacturer or seller.
“4. That the product was expected to reach and did reach the purchaser without substantial change in the condition in which it was sold.
“5. That the defect in the product caused or contributed to the injuries and damages of plaintiff.
*683“A manufacturer or seller is at fault although it has exercised all possible care in the preparation and sale of his product and although the user has not bought the product from or entered into any contractual relation with the seller.
“Some of the terms that need to be defined are: ‘defective,’ ‘unreasonably dangerous’ and ‘reasonably foreseeable.’ ” (Emphasis added.)
Instruction No. 18, also given by the trial court in Lester, was approved by this court. It reads:
“A product is unreasonably dangerous if it is dangerous to an extent beyond that which would be contemplated by the ordinary consumer who purchases it, with the ordinary knowledge commonto the community as to its characteristics.”
PIK Civ. 2d 13.22 (1977), is substantially identical to Instruction No. 15 above. The fifth element in each requires that the defect in the product be the cause or contributing cause of plaintiff s injuries and damages.
The court in Lester specifically rejected the two-pronged test or standard in Barker v. Lull Engineering Co., 20 Cal. 3d 413, 143 Cal. Rptr. 225, 573 P.2d 443 (1978), which incorporates a consumer expectation test with what the court called the “risk-benefit” test. The dissent in Lester v. Magic Chef, Inc., took issue with the instruction given the jury on the definition of “unreasonably dangerous” which appears in Comment i of § 402A Restatement (Second) of Torts.
Material to this lawsuit is the fact that under Kansas law there must be a causal connection between the alleged defect in the product and the injuries suffered by the plaintiff. The physical facts in the instant case establish there is no causal connection between the alleged defect and plaintiff s injury and damages.
It is well established that under the “physical facts rule” testimony of a witness which is contrary to the laws of nature, or which is clearly in conflict with principles established by the laws of science, is of no probative value. Zollman v. Symington Wayne Corporation, 438 F.2d 28, 31-32 (7th Cir. 1971); McDonald v. Ford Motor Co., 42 Ohio St. 2d 8, 17-18, 326 N.E.2d 252 (1975).
The theory asserted by the plaintiff is that reasonable minds may properly reach different conclusions, citing Sexsmith v. Union Pacific Railroad Co., 209 Kan. 99, 102-03, 495 P.2d 930 (1972). Here, however, the clear thrust of the physical evidence defeats the mere speculative explanations of the accident under the plaintiff s hypothesis. The plaintiff s “bullwhipping” alleged *684in this case is simply a speculative theory that in fact could not have occurred.
The only explanation for this accident is that plaintiff stuck his hand inside the baler under drive roller “D” (Figure 2) and took hold of the belt below drive roller “C” (Figure 2).
It is the plaintiff s theory that since the belt broke, it must have been defective. Actually, this point is irrelevant for the reasons heretofore stated, but since the court’s decision assumes there was evidence to support the plaintiffs theory it must be answered.
This theory is unsound for two reasons. First, there is absolutely no evidence in the transcript of the record on appeal that the belt broke before the accident and then caused the accident. The belt undoubtedly broke after the belt had started to wrap around the upper inside belt drive roller, and plaintiff s hand caught when movement of the belt began in the wrapping process.
Second, even assuming arguendo that somehow the belt broke before the accident, that does not show a manufacturer’s defect. It is well known that belts wear out and break, and that is why the operator’s manual contains detailed instructions about the maintenance, repair and replacement of the splices. The rule is that a manufacturer does not have an obligation to manufacture a product that will not wear out. Mitchell v. Ford Motor Co., 533 F.2d 19, 20 (1st Cir.), cert. denied 429 U.S. 871 (1976); Kaczmarek v. Mesta Machine Company, 463 F.2d 675, 678 (3rd Cir. 1972); Ulrich v. Kasco Abrasives Co., 532 S.W.2d 197, 201 (Ky. 1976). Mere wear and tear lacks probative value as evidence of defectiveness even more so when the user or consumer fails to perform necessary maintenance or to follow instructions for proper use. Mitchell v. Ford Motor Co., 533 F.2d at 21 (maintenance); Ulrich v. Kasco Abrasives Co., 532 S.W.2d at 201 (instructions). These principles are now set forth in the useful safe life provision of the new Kansas Product Liability Act, K.S.A. 1981 Supp. 60-3303(a).
The testimony in the plaintiff s case was that this baler had made from 5,000 to 7,000 bales of hay. This would be approximately 3,000 tons of hay. Only one belt on one of the two identical balers purchased by the plaintiffs employer was replaced. It broke when these balers were new. In the instant case the plaintiff made no attempt whatsoever to introduce evidence *685showing the expected life of a baler belt, the performance of any maintenance or repairs, or anything else that might give rise to an inference that the belt wore out and broke in an unusually short period of time. The plaintiff simply ignored his burden to show proper maintenance in the presentation of his evidence.

In fact, Exhibit 44 (Figure 4), which is approximately one inch cut off each end of the belt where it was spliced, discloses this belt was being operated at only one-half of its original strength. First, the curved contour of the top section shown on Figure 4 discloses the belt had permanently stretched to this configuration by long use with only the center two inches laced together with the steel cable holding the clips together on the two ends of the belt. Second, the badly frayed ends of the tightly woven stranded steel cable, that originally held all of the clips together, indicate this belt was used in a state of disrepair for a long period of time. These ends of the stranded steel cable are frayed for about one inch at each end. Had this belt been operating at full strength this stranded steel cable would appear as a smooth cable as it does in the center two inches of the cable. Note also the badly worn corners on the ends of this belt. (Figure 4.)
Furthermore, the plaintiff relies on evidence, admitted by the trial court over objection of the defendant, that the new model *686balers made by the Hesston Corporation had wider belts using stronger clips to hold the belt together at the splicing. The admission of this evidence was clearly erroneous as disclosed by plaintiff s Exhibit 53. This is a brochure on the Hesston Rounder Open-Throat Round Balers, Models 5580, 5540, 5500. The models that make the large round bales similar to the Model 5800, here in litigation, are the Models 5580 and 5540. They are described as “high-density” balers. This means they pack more hay into a given volume of space by exerting greater pressure on the bale-forming belts in the baling process. For example, the all-new Model 5580 makes a cylindrical bale five feet wide and up to six feet in diameter that can weigh up to 1,800 pounds.
The plaintiff testified he was making bales weighing from 1,000 to 1,200 pounds with the Model 5800 baler. This Model 5800 baler makes bales the same size as the new Model 5580. Note that the new Model 5580 baler packs 50% more hay into the same volume of space as the Model 5800 baler, which is a low-density baler. Obviously, stronger belts had to be designed to accommodate the increased pressure on the belts in the baling process, and this does not constitute an admission by the defendant that the belts on the Model 5800 baler were too weak or defectively designed.
The admission of this evidence concerning the new model balers, designed and made by the defendant after the Model 5800 was manufactured, was clearly prejudicial to the defendant.
Exhibits of these new model balers were also presented by the plaintiff, and admitted by the trial court as plaintiff s Exhibits 16 and 20 over the defendant’s objection, to show the newly designed balers had a bar across the front of the baler slightly above mid-height of the baler. In the redesigning of the new 5580 and 5540 balers they are described as: “Both feature a patented Force-Feed Open-Throat and exclusive Vertical Baler Chamber.” By redesigning the baler chamber the belts are run back and forth across the top of the baler instead of the front top side, as in the Model 5800.
The testimony of the defendant’s expert witness that it was not feasible to put a bar across the front of the Model 5800 baler is the basis for the admission of these new model baler exhibits in evidence. They show a bar in front of the bale chamber. On this basis, both the trial court and this court on appeal, approved the admission of these exhibits. This was erroneous and clearly *687prejudicial for two reasons. First, the evidence is absolutely irrelevant because the failure to have a bar across the Model 5800 baler was not the cause of the plaintiff s accident. Second, assuming the redesigned balers represent subsequent remedial conduct, K.S.A. 60-451 precludes the admission of such evidence. This statute provides:
“Subsequent remedial conduct. When after the occurrence of an event remedial or precautionary measures are taken, which, if taken previously would have tended to make the event less likely to occur, evidence of such subsequent measures is not admissible to prove negligence or culpable conduct in connection with the event.”
The trial court sustained a motion in limine concerning the admission into evidence of the new model balers until such time as plaintiff s counsel could show a causal connection to the way the accident happened. The majority in its decision herein goes much farther than the trial court and holds the above statute is not applicable in products liability cases, citing Ault v. International Harvester Co., 13 Cal. 3d 113, 117 Cal. Rptr. 812, 528 P.2d 1148 (1974). This is not Kansas law and basically predicates liability on advance design, using hindsight. Kansas law is stated in Garst v. General Motors Corporation, 207 Kan. 2, 484 P.2d 47 (1971), which has never been criticized or overruled in prior decisions of this court. In Garst the court said:
“The courts are nearly unanimous in saying the product-design duty of a manufacturer is that of reasonable care, but it is not an insurer that its product, from a design standpoint, be accident-proof or incapable of producing injury. (Evangelist v. Bellern Research Corporation, 199 Kan. 638, 648, 433 P.2d 380.)
“In the instant case it is not enough to say that the scraper did not stop or turn quickly enough. In 42 Wash. L. Rev. 601, “Manufacturer’s Liability for Defective Automobile Design,” it was said:
“ ‘To prove defective design, it is insufficient merely to assert that a different design would have alleviated or averted the plaintiff s injuries, since it may be assumed that any particular accident involving man and machine might have • been avoided through a variation in the design of the machine. However, such a variation might greatly magnify the chances of other sorts of mishaps taking place, or else render the machine incapable of reasonably efficient performance of its function. . . .’ (p. 608.)
“The need to show that there was a defect of some kind in design and not merely that a better design might have been conceived, is illustrated in Winn v. Sampson Construction Co., 194 Kan. 136, 398 P.2d 272. . . .
“All courts agree that as a matter of law, a manufacturer is not obligated to adopt only those features which represent the ultimate in safety or design. (Stevens v. Durbin-Durco, Inc. [Mo. 1964] 377 S.W.2d 343, 348; Bartkewich v. Billinger et al., Aplnts. [1968] 432 Pa. 351, 247 A.2d 603; Kerber v. American *688Machine & Foundry Company [8th Cir. 1969] 411 F.2d 419; and Mitchell v. Machinery Center, Inc. [10th Cir. 1961] 297 F.2d 883.)” pp. 20-21.
“Culpable conduct” used in K.S.A. 60-451 embraces strict product liability for design defect just as fully as the statute embraces negligence, which is also mentioned in the statute.
Another feature designed into the Model 5800 baler for safety is the slip clutch. Plaintiff s Exhibit 22 has a full discussion on this safety feature of the baler and instructions for the operator of the baler. Under the heading of Maintenance, it reads:
“SLIP CLUTCH ADJUSTMENT
“A spring length of 1-5/16-inches should provide sufficient torque to operate the machine on normal to heavy windrows and still permit slippage to prevent damage to the components in the drive train due to plugging or hard items jamming the mechanism. DO NOT completely compress the springs during adjustment.
“Adjust all springs to the same length. Check the slipping ability by inserting a long bar through the U-joint yoke next to the clutch and turning the input shaft to the clutch with a pipe wrench.
“When the machine has set idle for a length of time, the slip clutch must be disassembled, cleaned and inspected. Remove any buildup of dirt or rust on the clutch plates that may cause the clutch to lock. Clean any greasy substance to prevent premature slippage. Replace defective or badly worn parts.” (Emphasis added.)
The slip clutch on the Model 5800 baler is on the clutch input shaft which is driven by the power take-off on the tractor. It is located immediately ahead of the drive gear housing. When working properly the slip clutch will disengage the operation of all power driven parts of the baler if an obstruction is encountered. Here, had the slip clutch been working properly the stopping of the half-formed bale in the bale chamber should have disengaged the power and stopped the turning of all drive rollers.
The danger of getting caught in the moving parts of the baler was an open and obvious danger. The plaintiffs testimony established that he was an experienced farm employee who had worked for Keller Brothers for 21 years, who was a foreman supervising other employees of Keller Brothers, and who had been instructed by Ben Keller to emphasize safety rules to other employees. Plaintiff had experience using the baler since it was first purchased by Keller Brothers, was familiar with how the baler worked, knew that the belts moved when the baler was running, knew that the inside upper drive belt roller was power-driven, and, when his sons used the baler, told them to *689wait for him to come and fix the baler if anything went wrong with it. Plaintiff had read the warnings on the tractor, on the baler, and in the operator’s manual, he knew the manual was important, and he told his sons and employees under his supervision to read the manual and not to get off the tractor with the engine running. Plaintiff knew belts could break because he had previously experienced a broken belt on one of the balers owned by Keller Brothers, and he knew certain parts of the machine wear out or break in normal usage. Plaintiff knew that a person should not get near moving parts of farm machinery because of the danger of getting caught in the moving parts, and he knew that there is no way to anticipate all the different ways of getting caught in moving machinery.
A clear warning on the tractor, on the baler, and in the operator’s manual instructed the operator not to get off the tractor with the power take-off on the tractor running. A further instruction in the manual was not to get off the tractor with the engine running.
The plaintiff s expert witness Gary Robinson said the 5800 baler was defectively designed because the belts were not protected by a guard which would prevent an operator from sticking his hand into the machine. In his opinion whether or not the belt lashed out and pulled the plaintiff into the baler was immaterial. He testified:
“A. . . . From a safety standpoint it would be immaterial, the machine would be defective, not only because it came out like a bullwhip as you described it, but also from someone getting into it. So, from my recommendation to Mr. Boone, it was yes, the machine was defective because the defendant failed to guard the belts that have been talked about in publications for fifty years.
“Q. Now, this standard that you talked about that you say is important, is the mechanical power transmission that is a standard that is applicable to factories and to stationary machinery, is it not?
“A. Not necessarily stationary, but it is an industrial standard.”
The plaintiff relied on this theory at trial and argues that the baler is defective in design because it lacked a protective shield that would protect him when he deliberately violated defendant’s warnings and instructions and checked the belts on the baler while the baler was running, or reached into the moving parts of the baler while it was running. Similarly, he argues that the baler is defective because it lacked a graphic decal to warn him one last time not to violate warnings and instructions that plaintiff had already decided to violate.
This argument has no merit. Robinson supplies the only testi*690mony in the record supporting this theory of the plaintiff. Here plaintiff read the instructions, knew the instructions and directed those persons under his supervision to follow the instructions on safety. The plaintiff s failure to follow the instructions or warnings constituted an unforeseeable misuse of the baler. It has often been held that a manufacturer’s design and warning obligations extend to the plaintiff s foreseeable, but not to his unforeseeable, misuse of the product. Kay v. Cessna Aircraft Co., 548 F.2d 1370, 1372-73 (9th Cir. 1977); Kroon v. Beech Aircraft Corp., 465 F. Supp. 1223, 1225 (M.D. Fla. 1979), aff'd 628 F.2d 891 (5th Cir. 1980); Conder v. Hull Lift Truck, Inc., _ Ind. _, 435 N.E.2d 10, 14-15 (1982). The failure to follow proper instructions and directions provided by the manufacturer may constitute unforeseeable misuse. Kay v. Cessna Aircraft Co., 548 F.2d at 1373; Kroon v. Beech Aircraft Corp., 465 F. Supp. at 1225; Procter & Gamble Manufacturing Co. v. Langley, 422 S.W.2d 773, 780 (Tex. Civ. App. 1967).
In the instant case there were warnings and instructions not to get off the tractor with the engine running, to keep hands, feet and clothing away from moving parts, and never to check the belts while the baler is running. The plaintiff testified he understood the nature and importance of these warnings, but he deliberately refused to follow the instructions and warnings.
Even assuming the plaintiff s misuse of the baler could be viewed as “foreseeable,” the baler is not defective as a matter of law in the light of Lester v. Magic Chef, Inc., 230 Kan. 643, 647-48, 653, 641 P.2d 353 (1982), where the court adopted the “consumer expectation test” for determining when a product is in a “defective condition unreasonably dangerous to the user or consumer.” That test requires that a product is not unreasonably dangerous if it is not “dangerous to an extent beyond that which would be contemplated by the ordinary consumer who purchases it, with the ordinary knowledge common to the community as to its characteristics.” Thus, where a misuse consists of encountering a dangerous condition appreciated by the ordinary consumer, the product would not be defective or unreasonably dangerous even if the misuse could be characterized as “foreseeable.” Schell v. AMF, Inc., 567 F.2d 1259, 1262 (3rd Cir. 1977); Vincer v. Esther Wms. All-Alum. S. Pool Co., 69 Wis. 2d 326, 332, 230 N.W.2d 794 (1975).
Over defendant’s objection the trial court admitted evidence *691showing the development, use and distribution of a new graphic warning decal on the Hesston 5800 Model baler. The drawing was the picture of a person getting caught in the rollers where crop material is first fed into the baler and then states:
“DANGER - DEATH OR SERIOUS INJURY CAN RESULT BY MANUAL UNPLUGGING OR BY FEEDING CROP OR TWINE IN FEED ENTRY AREA WHILE BALER IS RUNNING. THE BALER FEEDS FASTER THAN YOU CAN RELEASE MATERIAL. DISENGAGE PTO AND SHUT OFF ENGINE.”
The Hesston Corporation was the first agricultural equipment manufacturer in the industry to develop and use such graphic decals. The manufacturer mailed a copy of the decal to known customers and Keller Brothers was a known customer. The decal came out after the baler in this case was purchased and the decal was not put on the baler. The graphic warning relates safety to the feeding of hay into the bottom feed entry area of the baler and does not relate in any manner to the bale-forming belts on the baler. It is simply a reminder to adhere to other warnings already given. Such a reminder warning against foreseeable misuse where the user already is aware of the danger is not required under the consumer expectation test.
The trial court should have excluded this evidence. It was irrelevant and served to further prejudice the jury.
The testimony of Gary Robinson concerning the failure to put a guard over the belts, which he characterized as a design defect, is supported only by Robinson’s “hazard-risk” test which has not been adopted by a single jurisdiction in the United States.
At each and every stage of the trial, counsel for the defendant moved for a directed verdict on the evidence of the plaintiff and the theories advanced by the plaintiff. The ground asserted by the defendant was that the plaintiff s theories were not. supported by any competent evidence. The trial judge repeatedly denied the motions.
. It is respectfully submitted the jury’s verdict in this case is based on pure speculation and conjecture. There is no competent evidence in the record to support the verdict of the jury. Leroy Black Lumber Co., Inc. v. Bremen Farmers’ Mut. Ins. Co., 216 Kan. 147, 151, 530 P.2d 1209 (1975). On this record the judgment should be reversed and judgment entered for the defendant.