Skinner v. Square D Co.

Facts

Chester Skinnerconstructed a tumbling machine that is used to clean and finish metal parts. Square D Company, Defendant, controlled the power to the machine with a switch that was connected to the machine’s motor with wires that had “alligator clips” on the ends. To operate the machine, one needed to manually reverse the direction of the rotating drum, which Plaintiff or one of his coworkers would do by shutting off the switch, disconnecting two of the alligator clips from the motor, and reversing the clips.Once the machine was turned on and hooked properly, the machine would rotate or make noise. In February 1986, Skinner was working by himself when his wife and two other women in the room next door heard him call out. When the women came to Skinner, they saw him holding an alligator clip in each hand with live current flowing through him. At that point, Skinner was able to remove one clip and flip the switch to the off direction, which resulted in his death. Plaintiffs, representatives of Skinner’s estate brought suit against Defendant on the grounds that the switch was defective because it did not always clearly indicate whether it was on or off. Plaintiffs contend the defect was the cause of Skinner’s death. Further, Plaintiffs introduced evidence that Skinner was a cautious worker, and the accident took place when the machine was on but the wires were not hooked, causing the machine not refrain from moving or making any noise to indicate that it was on.Thus, Skinner did not believe the machine was turned on because the switch was defective. Defendant motioned for summary judgment on the grounds that even if the switch was defective, Plaintiffs did not meet their burden in establishing that the defect was the cause of Skinners death. Subsequently, the trial court granted Defendant’s motion, and Plaintiffs appealed.