Escola v. Coca Cola Bottling Co. of Fresno

Facts

A driver working for the bottling plant dropped off several cases of coca cola to the restaurant where Plaintiff works as a waitress. The driver stacked the cases on the floor on top of each other behind the counter. The cases sat there for approximately 36 hours. As the plaintiff was restacking coca cola bottles in the restaurant fridge, one exploded in her hand. She had already placed three bottles in the fridge, picked up the fourth, and when it was approximately 18 inches from the case, exploded and broke into two jagged pieces. She suffered a deep 5-inch cut on her right hand, which severed blood vessels, nerves, and muscles of her thumb and palm of her right hand. She sued the bottling plant for negligence, alleging that there must have been some sort of deficiency in their bottling process – either a defect in the glass or amount of carbon dioxide in the carbonation –  in order for the bottle to explode with no warning or reason.