American Central Insurance Co. v. Terex Crane and Koehring Co.11/7/2003
Appellant/defendant, Koehring Cranes, Inc. (Koehring), appeals the jury's allocation of fault to Koehring for an accident involving a crane it had manufactured. Louis Chapman, Jr. (Chapman), appellee/cross-appellant, contests the jury's verdict for future lost wages; past, present and future pain and suffering; mental pain and suffering; disability; and loss of enjoyment of life. Following a review of the facts and law surrounding the issues in this case, we affirm.
BACKGROUND
On May 16, 1996, Central Erectors, Inc. (Central Erectors), a contracting company, was erecting a steel structure for a bus station in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. A second-hand, 1970 model Lorain MC 665 crane was being utilized to lift the structural steel components of the roof. The crane, which had been purchased by Central Erectors in 1982, was manufactured by Koehring.
Louis Chapman, Sr., Chapman's father, employed Chapman as a steel worker. At the time of the incident, Chapman was positioned on the roof of the building with another steel worker, Brent Carpenter. Donnie Lee (Lee), a Central Erector employee who operated the crane, was in the process of lowering the boom of the crane so that the steelworkers could bolt a purlin to the roof, when a loud popping sound occurred in the back of the crane cab. Thereafter, Lee's application of the brakes failed to stop the boom from hitting the building. In an effort to escape being hit by the falling boom, Chapman was forced to drop twenty feet from a beam to the ground. He incurred serious injuries to his left foot and ankle, right wrist, right elbow, and thoracic spine.
American Central Insurance Company (American Central), the insurer for Central Erectors, and Central Erectors filed a petition against Koehring and Terex Crane, Inc., in which American Central sought subrogation for the cost to repair the damage to the boom of the crane. In a separate petition, Louisiana Workers' Compensation Corporation (LWCC) filed a lawsuit against Koehring and Central Erectors to recover benefits and medical expenses that it had paid to Chapman. Chapman intervened in the latter suit to recover damages resulting from the collapse of the crane's boom. Central Erectors filed a cross-claim against Koehring, as well as a third party demand in which it sought statutory employer status. The two cases were ultimately consolidated.
Following trial on the merits of the consolidated case, Central Erectors was assigned sixty-two percent fault; thirty-eight percent fault was attributed to Koehring. Damages were awarded to Chapman in the following amounts: past medical expenses, $253,204.24; future medical expenses, $304,296.00; past lost wages, $100,000.00; future lost wages, $100,000.00; past and future physical pain and suffering, $100,000.00; past and future mental pain and suffering, $40,000.00; permanent physical impairment and disability of the body, $100,000.00; and loss of enjoyment of life, $100,000.00.
On appeal, Koehring asserts clear error in the jury's imposition of fault for failure to warn. Contrarily, Chapman seeks an increase in future lost wages; past, present and future physical and mental pain and suffering; permanent physical impairment; disability; and loss of enjoyment of life.
FAILURE TO WARN
Louisiana law ascribes to a manufacturer a duty to provide warning of any danger inherent in the normal use of its product which is not within the knowledge of an ordinary user. La. R.S. 9:2800.57C; Bunge Corporation v. GATX Corporation, 557 So.2d 1376, 1384 (La. 1990). The manufacturer's duty to warn is a continuing one. Id.
It was not disputed by the parties that the boom hoist brake fail
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