Hackett v. Equipment Specialists, Inc.

Plaintiff, Donna Ruth Hackett, was injured while working on machinery manufactured by defendant, Equipment Specialists, Inc., and she filed a products liability suit against defendant. Defendant filed a third-party action against plaintiff’s employer, third-party defendant Custom Farm Seed Company.

Following a trial, a jury found in favor of plaintiff and against defendant, awarding $872,340 in compensatory damages. However, the jury found plaintiff had assumed 45% of the risk of her injury and reduced the total award to $479,787.

In the third-party action, the jury found in favor of defendant/…