McClaughry v. Sandwell International, Inc.

Summary

An employee of American Can Company sued Sandwell International, the designer of the company’s paper plant, for injuries caused when a bridged pile of chips collapsed over an underground plate feeder. The Oregon Supreme Court affirmed the judgment for the plaintiff, holding that the evidence supported findings that Sandwell could have foreseen the danger and should have provided warnings or a means to locate the feeder, and that contributory negligence was properly submitted to the jury.

Holdings

1. The evidence permitted the jury to find that a reasonable designer should have anticipated that increased chip volumes could lead to piles exceeding fifteen feet and should have provided a warning or locating device to reduce the resulting risk of injury.
2. Contributory negligence was properly submitted to the jury because the evidence permitted a finding that McClaughry acted reasonably and could not have avoided the accident through the exercise of reasonable care.
3. Even assuming that the two negligence specifications were redundant, the redundancy did not warrant striking the specification because the defendant failed to show prejudice.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the evidence permitted the jury to find that Sandwell negligently failed to design or provide a warning or locating device for the plate feeder.
2. Whether the evidence permitted the jury to find that Sandwell could reasonably foresee that the facility would be operated with chip piles exceeding the fifteen-foot design limitation.
3. Whether McClaughry's contributory negligence was established as a matter of law or was properly submitted to the jury.
4. Whether the trial court erred by refusing to strike the second specification of negligence as unsupported and redundant.

Disposition

affirmed