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Couch v. Astec Industries6/19/2002
Plaintiff Tom Couch was seriously injured in the course of his employment when his foot was caught in a tail pulley on an asphalt recycling plant manufactured by Defendant Astec Industries, Inc. Plaintiff sued Defendant for strict product liability and negligence, and Plaintiff's wife sued for loss of consortium. The jury found Defendant liable, and, taking into account its assessment of comparative fault, awarded Plaintiff $1,050,000 in compensatory damages. Defendant appealed, and Plaintiff and his wife cross-appealed.
In the main appeal, Defendant raises three primary issues. First, Defendant contends the trial court erred in admitting expert testimony on liability and hedonic damages, evidence of government standards, and evidence of post-accident remedial measures undertaken by Plaintiff's employer. Second, Defendant claims there was insufficient evidence from which the jury could reasonably determine that Defendant was responsible for Plaintiff's "enhanced injury " or that Defendant was negligent or strictly liable to Plaintiff. Third, Defendant argues the trial court erroneously instructed the jury that Defendant had a duty to retrofit the recycling plant. In the cross-appeal, Plaintiff and his wife argue that the trial court erred in granting Defendant's motion for directed verdict for, respectively, punitive damages and loss of consortium. We affirm.
BACKGROUND
Defendant manufactures asphalt plants and road paving equipment. Plaintiff was injured on August 18, 1997, while working for CalMat (Employer), which produces hot-mix asphalt used to pave highways and streets. At the time of the accident, Plaintiff was working around the recycle bin and adjacent conveyor belts of an asphalt plant designed and manufactured by Defendant in 1988 and sold to Employer in 1989. The recycle bin holds recycled asphalt pavement (RAP). A feeder belt carries the RAP from the bottom of the bin and drops it onto an incline conveyor belt, which then carries the RAP up to the drum dryer where it is mixed with other ingredients to make new hot-mix asphalt. The incline conveyor belt rotates around the tail pulley, a cylindrical object, located at the bottom of the conveyor.
On the day of the accident, Plaintiff loaded the recycle bin with a front-end loader, noticed that no RAP was on the feeder belt under the bin, and determined that the bin had jammed. In an attempt to unclog the bin and restart the RAP flow, Plaintiff climbed inside the bin and shoveled material out onto the ground. Plaintiff's action did not unclog the jam. Plaintiff then decided to re-enter the bin. The plant operator had shut off the feeder belt, but the incline conveyor belt continued to run. Instead of using a ladder to access the bin, Plaintiff climbed up on its frame and stepped on the guard attached to the conveyor belt frame. The guard was supposed to prevent contact with the conveyor belt and tail pulley.
The parties disputed the guard's role in the accident. Plaintiff argued that the guard was inadequate because it did not extend far enough past the nip point of the tail pulley and because it permitted a nine-inch gap between the belt and the conveyor frame. Plaintiff maintained that his foot was able to slip through the gap and come in contact with the conveyor belt which caused him to fall and ultimately resulted in his leg becoming entangled in the tail pulley. Conversely, Defendant argued that it was not the height of the guard or the gap that caused the accident, but instead either Plaintiff's negligence in failing to follow the proper procedures to unclog the recycle bin or Employer's negligence in failing to adequately bolt the guard to the frame. Defendant contended
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