 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Thompson v. F.B. Cross & Sons3/22/2002
Submitted: December 11, 2001
Upon appeal from the Superior Court. REVERSED and REMANDED.
This is an appeal from a final judgment of the Superior Court. The proceeding is a personal injury lawsuit arising from a work related accident that occurred at NVF Corporation's ("NVF") zinc processing plant in Yorklyn, Delaware. The plaintiff-appellant, Randy Thompson, an NVF maintenance employee, was struck in the eye by the lid from a strainer manufactured by Hayward Industrial Products ("Hayward"). Thompson brought this action against Hayward and F.B. Cross & Sons, Inc. ("Cross") alleging that Hayward negligently designed the strainer and that Cross negligently designed, installed and maintained/repaired the strainer and its associated parts, and failed to warn of hazards inherent in the system's design.
Thompson's claim against Hayward was dismissed by an agreement of all parties. The Superior Court granted summary judgment for Cross on Thompson's claims of negligent design, failure to warn and negligent maintenance/repair. The Superior Court denied Cross' Motion for Summary Judgment as to Thompson's claim for negligent installation. That claim alone was the subject matter of a jury trial. The jury returned a verdict for Cross. Thompson's Motion for a New Trial was denied.
Thompson has raised four issues on appeal. Thompson's first argument is that the Superior Court erred, as a matter of law, when it granted partial summary judgment for Cross with regard to his claim for negligent design, failure to warn and negligent maintenance/repair. Second, Thompson submits that the trial judge's instruction that Cross, as an installer, had no duty to investigate the abrasive nature of the liquids strained through the system was erroneous. Third, Thompson contends that the trial judge improperly admitted the testimony of the defendant's expert, William Daley, P.E. Finally, Thompson argues that the trial judge improperly excluded the expert testimony of Alan Levin, M.E.
We have concluded that the Superior Court's entry of summary judgment must be reversed. Accordingly, there must be a new trial on all of Thompson's claims against Cross. Consequently, the evidentiary issues presented by Thompson in this appeal are not addressed and will not constitute the law of the case upon remand.
Facts
NVF operates a zinc processing plant in Yorklyn, Delaware. Thompson, a maintenance employee for NVF, was injured on January 8, 1997 while attempting to clean a strainer. At the zinc processing plant, used liquid slurry settles to the bottom of large tanks and is pumped into the sediment strainer where leaves, stones, sand, wood fibre and other abrasive solids are removed. The remaining slurry is then pumped to a centrifuge to remove water from the diluted acid. The sediment strainer is cleaned every one or two hours as needed.
Cross had been a significant subcontractor to NVF, having performed numerous process piping jobs at the NVF plant in the preceding five years. NVF hired Cross to replace two pumps that strain acid sludge for recycling. Cross has been engaged in the business of installation of metal and polyvinyl chloride ("PVC") industrial and commercial process piping for over thirty years.
NVF's operations engineer, Bernard Schroeder, initially met with the president of Cross at the Yorklyn plant and requested a quotation for pump replacement work that would replace the existing metal system with PVC. Cross submitted a proposal to NVF which made no reference to any NVF specifications. Cross sent a letter to NVF with a quote attached stating:
We hereby agree to furnish labor, material, equipment, and
Page 1 2 3 4 Delaware Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|