Dan Folluo and Nicholas Foster obtained a defense verdict in a product liability case after a week-long jury trial in Craig County, Oklahoma. Plaintiff was an experienced ranch hand who claimed he was injured by a defective hydraulic flat-bed hay bale loader mounted to a pick-up truck manufactured by the defendant. Plaintiff claimed he was sitting on the side of the flatbed driving through a pasture when the hydraulic arms suddenly closed on him without warning, pinning him to the flatbed and causing life-threatening injuries. Plaintiff argued the bale bed should have been manufactured with an alarm that would alert people that the hydraulic arms have been activated. Plaintiff also argued that the wireless remote control was susceptible to accidental activation, and should have been a two-stage / two-button remote control, possibly with a flip-cover. Dan Folluo and Nicholas Foster argued the bale bed was not defective, that the hydraulic arms were an open and obvious danger to anyone around it, and that the bale bed could not have been designed with additional safety features without impairing the utility and simplicity of the bale bed. The jury did not buy the plaintiff’s arguments and rendered a unanimous defense verdict.
