Slayton v. Ford Motor Co.

On June 5, 1975, David Slayton, then age 6, was severely injured when a lawn and garden tractor equipped with a rotary mower backed over his legs. David’s parents brought suit individually and on his behalf against the operator of the tractor, the owner/entruster of the tractor, the owners of the property on which the accident occurred, and the manufacturer of the tractor. Ford Motor Company was originally named as the manufacturer. The tractor was manufactured for Ford by Jacobsen Manufacturing Company, who later sold its lawn tractor business to Textron, Inc., and changed its corporate name…