Schneider v. Verson Allsteel Press Co.
Court: Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York; February 6, 1997; New York; State Appellate Court
The order of the Supreme Court has been modified and affirmed in part. The court found that it erred in granting Verson All-steel Press Co.'s motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint entirely. The plaintiff, Friedmut X. Schneider, suffered the amputation of two fingers due to a 300-ton press manufactured by Verson cycling while his hand was in the die space. The affidavit from a mechanical engineering expert raised a triable issue regarding whether the press was defective at the time of manufacture due to the absence of protective guards around the die space. Additionally, there is a triable issue regarding whether alterations made to the machine by the plaintiff’s employer, Harrison Radiator Div. of General Motors Corp., were the proximate cause of the injuries, rather than the lack of protective guards. The court also noted that whether the plaintiff's action of placing his hand inside the die area constituted a superseding cause of his injuries is a question for the jury. Consequently, the order has been modified to deny part of Verson's motion for summary judgment, reinstating the portion of the complaint that alleges strict products liability based on design defect. However, the claim concerning Verson’s failure to warn was appropriately dismissed.