Ackerman v. Terpsma

Plaintiff1 brings an action for personal injuries suffered in an automobile accident in which the defendant was driving his own vehicle and plaintiff was a passenger. Plaintiff alleges that defendant was negligent (1) in fail*210ing to use reasonable care in the operation of his automobile and (2) in operating a vehicle with defective equipment.

Defendant, being in need of a new septic tank at his suburban residence, called the owner of Valley Contractors to do the excavating for him on a Saturday. Valley Contractors sent plaintiff, one of its employees, with a “backhoe” to defendant’s premises.…