Defective Tractor Design Causes Brain Injury

Brain Injury to 19 Year Old Employee
A 19 year old employee of a Lane County grass seed farm was part of a team bringing in the grass seed crop, using specialized tractors that cut the grass and pushed it through augers to form windrows. A co-worker, whose machine became jammed, had placed an unplugging wrench on the machine before the 19 year old was sent over to help get that tractor running again. A supervisor soon arrived and sent the young man back to his own tractor. The supervisor did not realize that a wrench was on the jammed machine and started it up, causing the wrench to fly up into the air and down into the young man's head, resulting in severe brain injury.

Defective Tractor Design
The Corson & Johnson Law Firm brought a product liability claim in behalf of this man, and eventually tried his case against the manufacturer of the specialized grass seed harvesting machinery because of the machine's dangerously defective design. Most of the design deficiencies could have been taken care of by a $2.88 interlock switch, the kind that is used throughout industry and in innumerable consumer products, and indeed elsewhere on the same grass seed harvesting machine.

Jury Trial and Award
The trial involved testimony by experts in mechanical engineering, product design, brain injury medicine, physical therapy, life care planning, vocational consulting, economics, farming, and human factors, in addition to numerous witnesses. The jury found that the manufacturer was negligent and that its machine design was defective and unreasonably dangerous. It assessed the employee's losses in the amount of $4,040,000.00. The case is currently on appeal

The Corson & Johnson Law Firm serves clients throughout Oregon, including Eugene, Portland, Brownsville, Springfield, Hood River, Brookings, Corvallis, Salem, Redmond, Roseburg, Medford, Klamath Falls, Myrtle Creek, Bend, Albany, Creswell, Ashland, Central Point, Grants Pass, Junction City, Florence, Tigard, Cottage Grove, Coos Bay, North Bend, Newport, Oregon City, Hillsboro, Gresham, Beaverton.

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The Corson & Johnson Law Firm does not offer any guarantee of case results. Past success in litigation does not guarantee success in any new or future civil action. Our web site describes some of the cases that Don Corson or The Corson & Johnson Law Firm has worked on in the past. Our description of those cases is summary in nature. The results obtained in each of the cases depended on the particular facts of each case. The results of other cases will differ based on the different facts involved.

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Eugene Oregon Personal Injury Attorneys • Corson & Johnson Law Firm, Don Corson and Lara Johnson, 101 East Broadway Suite 303, Eugene, Oregon 97401 • phone: 541/484-2525, fax: 541/484-2929
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	Defective Tractor Design Causes Brain Injury Brain Injury to 19 Year Old Employee A 19 year old employee of a Lane County grass seed farm was part of a team bringing in the grass seed crop, using specialized tractors that cut the grass and pushed it through augers to form windrows. A co-worker, whose machine became jammed, had placed an unplugging wrench on the machine before the 19 year old was sent over to help get that tractor running again. A supervisor soon arrived and sent the young man back to his own tractor. The supervisor did not realize that a wrench was on the jammed machine and started it up, causing the wrench to fly up into the air and down into the young man's head, resulting in severe brain injury. Defective Tractor Design The Corson & Johnson Law Firm brought a product liability claim in behalf of this man, and eventually tried his case against the manufacturer of the specialized grass seed harvesting machinery because of the machine's dangerously defective design. Most of the design deficiencies could have been taken care of by a $2.88 interlock switch, the kind that is used throughout industry and in innumerable consumer products, and indeed elsewhere on the same grass seed harvesting machine. Jury Trial and Award The trial involved testimony by experts in mechanical engineering, product design, brain injury medicine, physical therapy, life care planning, vocational consulting, economics, farming, and human factors, in addition to numerous witnesses. The jury found that the manufacturer was negligent and that its machine design was defective and unreasonably dangerous. It assessed the employee's losses in the amount of $4,040,000.00. The case is currently on appeal
	The Corson & Johnson Law Firm serves clients throughout Oregon, including Eugene, Portland, Brownsville, Springfield, Hood River, Brookings, Corvallis, Salem, Redmond, Roseburg, Medford, Klamath Falls, Myrtle Creek, Bend, Albany, Creswell, Ashland, Central Point, Grants Pass, Junction City, Florence, Tigard, Cottage Grove, Coos Bay, North Bend, Newport, Oregon City, Hillsboro, Gresham, Beaverton. Benton County • Clackamas County • Coos County • Crook County • Deschutes County • Douglas County • Jackson County • Jefferson County • Josephine County • Klamath County • Lane County • Lincoln County • Linn County • Marion County • Multnomah County • Polk County • Tillamook County • Washington County The Corson & Johnson Law Firm does not offer any guarantee of case results. Past success in litigation does not guarantee success in any new or future civil action. Our web site describes some of the cases that Don Corson or The Corson & Johnson Law Firm has worked on in the past. Our description of those cases is summary in nature. The results obtained in each of the cases depended on the particular facts of each case. The results of other cases will differ based on the different facts involved. FULL DISCLAIMER