Smith v. Hobart Manufacturing Co.
Opinion of the Court
Howard Smith’s right hand became entangled in the revolving worm of an electrically powered meat grinder and was seriously injured as a result of his slipping on a platform while feeding meat to the grinder on May 6, 1957. At the time he was working within the course and scope of his employment in an establishment owned by his employer, Holiday Frosted Food Co. (“Holiday”) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He brought an action against The Hobart Manufacturing Company (“Hobart”), the designer and manufacturer of the grinder, on the theory that the machine was defectively designed for the purpose for which it was to be used.
On January 22, 1957, Holiday purchased a meat grinder (Model 4542 Chopper) from Hobart to replace a smaller grinder. It was delivered on February 15, 1957, and was placed in Holiday’s shipping room and permitted to remain there for about a week. When the machine was delivered by Hobart, a guard was affixed to it over the mouth of the bowl into which meat was fed to be ground. The purpose of the guard was to prevent the hand of an operator of the machine from accidentally entering the mouth of the bowl and touching the worm. The machine was removed from its crate and placed in Holiday’s fabricating room where it stayed for approximately six weeks.
“Keep Hand From Under Grill Use Stomper”
The grill and legs constituted the guard which, as has been indicated, covered the elliptical opening of the bowl. A removable feeding tray, 40 inches long- and 15 inches wide, with an opening in the bottom at one of its ends fitted over the grill and rested flush with the rim of the bowl; its other end rested on the top of the housing. The back rim of' the tray was a great deal higher than the front rim immediately in front of the operator, as indicated by Exhibit P-1. Although the record is devoid of the exact measurement, this front rim, when scaled to dimension, measured between 3 and 4 inches in height. This tray was held in place by clamps.
While the meat grinder was in the fabricating room, one of Smith’s wit
Smith had previously operated the machine once with the guard in place and twice with the guard removed. On May 6, 1957, after he had completed loading the tray on the meat grinder with chunks and strips of meat and had moved to get the wooden stomper in his left hand, Smith started to push the meat toward the mouth of the bowl with his right hand. As he was doing so, he slipped on the platform and in trying to catch himself, his right hand went down into the bowl and his finger caught in the revolving worm which drew his hand into the machine. Because of the position of his body, he was unable to reach the push-button switch to shut off the electric motor and needed assistance to remove what was left of his hand from the bowl. After the accident, the guard was replaced on the machine.
Hobart contends that the refusal of the trial court to set aside the verdict in Smith’s favor and to enter judgment in its favor was error because (a) even if the meat grinder were dangerous to operate without the guard, the act of Holiday in deliberately removing the guard was such an extraordinary act of negligence that it should have been ruled as a superseding cause as a matter of law, or (b) the meat grinder with the guard on was reasonably safe for the purpose for which it was to be used.
Hobart does not deny that the grinder was the type of machine which a manufacturer should realize is likely to be dangerous for the use for which it was manufactured unless proper precautions are taken to guard against injury.
Hobart does not seriously deny here that the machine with the guard off was dangerous to operate.
If Hobart had reason to expect that Holiday would remove the guard, the fact that its removal was “wilful or wanton” would not have made that act a superseding cause to Hobart’s negligence. See Anderson v. Bushong Pontiac Company, Inc., 404 Pa. 382, 171 A.2d 771, 773 (1961).
The only prop left to support the verdict is Smith’s second or alternative ground for recovery, to wit: if the guard were in place it would not have prevented his injuries. However, the trial court did not specifically present the case to the jury on this issue. Of course if there was insufficient evidence on this point, the trial court was correct in not submitting it to the jury for its consideration. Smith was the only eyewitness and narrator of the events immediately leading up to his accident. His testimony as to how the accident happened has been adverted to above. During the process of testifying he demonstrated to the jury how he slipped while he was pushing meat toward the mouth of the bowl. Except in a vague way, we do not know what the movements and angle of his arm were at that time. His demonstration was not described on the record except by his undetailed explanation and the ubiquitous word, “indicating.” Smith offered to have the dimensions of his left hand measured before the jury, and to testify that after the accident and the guard had been replaced, he had returned to Holiday’s plant and was able to put his left hand under the grill and down into the mouth of the bowl and touch the worm of the meat grinder, but he was prevented from doing so by the trial court. That court also struck out the testimony of Isaac Stewart, a professional engineer called by Smith as an expert witness, who testified that he reached through under the grill on the feed side with an adjustable rule in his hand to measure the dimensions of the bowl and was able to get down to the area of the worm without any difficulty. In addition, the court would not permit Holiday to question another expert witness, Thomas A. Oravecz, Director of the Bureau of Industrial Standards for the Department of Labor & Industry of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and a professional engineer, concerning the fact that he was able to put his hand under the grill on the feed side and touch the worm, and that his hand was larger than Smith’s left hand. True, a showing that a man’s hand, the size of Smith’s, could be intentionally passed through the opening under the grill and touch the worm does not prove that the guard, had it been in place at the time, would not have intercepted or blocked a hand passing unintentionally in a haphazard fashion near the open space under the grill on the feed side. However it does lend some credence to the assertion that Smith’s hand could have slipped under the guard. On the other hand the amount of meat in the tray or
Since Hobart concedes that the machine minus the guard was dangerous to operate, we need not determine whether Rule 4,
Accordingly, the judgment in favor of Smith and against Hobart in the main action will be reversed and the case remanded with directions to order a partial new trial; and the judgment in favor of Hobart and against Holiday in the third-party action will also be reversed and the case remanded for entry of judgment in favor of Holiday against Hobart.
. The Hobart Manufacturing Company is a corporation organized under the laws of Ohio with its principal plant in Troy of that State. It has registered to do business in Pennsylvania.
. The opinion of the trial court giving the reason for awarding the new trial is reported at 185 F.Supp. 751 (E.D.Pa. 1960).
. The machine also had a hidden overload thermal relay that automatically cut off the current to the motor -when the rotating of the worm was interfered with to prevent damage to the motor.
. One of the purposes of the removability of the cylinder projection was to facilitate tlie cleaning of its parts in water. The manufacturer recommended that they be cleaned daily.
. When the machine was in operation, the worm rotated at the rate of 225 revolutions per minute.
. See Restatement, Torts (1934) § 388(a).
. Section 302(b), Restatement of Torts (1934), states: “A negligent act may be one which: (b) created a situation which involves an unreasonable risk to another because of the expectable action of the other, a third person . . ..” Also see comment m to this section concerning the anticipation of third person’s intentional misconduct. The section is quoted in Tua v. Brentwood Motor Coach Co., 371 Pa. 570, 573-574, 92 A.2d 209, and in Anderson v. Bushong Pontiac Company, Inc., 404 Pa. 382, 386, 171 A.2d 771, 773 (1961).
Id., Section 290 provides: “For the purpose of determining whether the actor should recognize that his conduct involves-
. This was not solely a defense in the third-party action.
. Should there be any doubt on this point, see the cases of Fegley v. Lycoming Rubber Co., 231 Pa. 446, 80 A. 870 (1911), and Ralston v. Baldwin Locomotive Works, 240 Pa. 14, 87 A. 299 (1913).
. For a case in which it was possible for a plaintiff to have adduced evidence to show that a defendant should have expected the action (i. e., move a newsstand) of a third person, but failed to present sufficient evidence on that score, see Tua v. Brentwood Motor Coach Co., 371 Pa. 570, 92 A.2d 209 (1952), cited in footnote 7, supra.
. Act of May 18, 1937, P.L. 645, 43 P.S. § 25-6. This section provides: “No person shall remove or make ineffective any safeguard, safety appliance or device attached to machinery except for the purpose of immediately making repairs or adjustments, and any person or persons who remove or make ineffective any such safeguard, safety appliance or device for repairs or adjustments shall replace the same immediately upon completion of such repairs or adjustments.”
. See 6 Moore’s Fed.Practice (2nd Ed.) Para. 59.06, pp. 3766-67.
. This Rule provides: “(a) All power-driven meat grinders of the worm type shall be so constructed that meat can be safely fed to the worm by one of the following methods:
“1. By a mechanical method of feeding the worm.
“2. By the use of a permanently attached neck to the cylinder enclosing the worm which shall have an opening of not more than 2% inches in diameter at a point at least 4% inches above the worm.
“3. Other means of protection may be provided when approved by the Industrial Board.
Approved January 12, 1927’
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Howard SMITH v. The HOBART MANUFACTURING COMPANY, and Third-Party v. HOLIDAY FROSTED FOOD COMPANY, Third-Party Defendant Howard SMITH v. The HOBART MANUFACTURING COMPANY, and Third-Party v. HOLIDAY FROSTED FOOD COMPANY, Third-Party
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