Brown v. Quick Mix Co.

This is a products liability action, brought against the manufacturer and the retailer of an earth-boring drill by a “pile buck” whose job it was to manually guide the drill to the desired position for drilling a hole. In the process of doing so, he got his hand caught between the flights of the auger and a metal centralizer attached to the H beam which held the auger in place for drilling. He lost three fingers and a part of his right hand. The jury found that the manufacturer was liable in the amount of $76,719 but exonerated the retailer.

The evidence showed that the components of the drill…