Product Liability Exposure: A high dollar verdict despite a strong defense for misuse of the product

At the time of the accident, the plaintiff was on the co-defendant’s property to hunt wild turkeys with two friends. The three men climbed a ladder stand to a platform in a tree when the ladder stand suddenly collapsed. The plaintiff should have been wearing a full body safety harness secured to the tree but he was not. The plaintiff sustained a fractured vertebrae and severed spinal cord, rendering him a paraplegic. The accident was likely caused by the deteriorated condition of the ladder’s attachment straps due to exposure to the elements over five years. The combined weight of the three hunters (over 500lbs) likely caused the weakened straps to fail. The written instructions originally provided with the ladder stand limit the use to two people at a time, weighing less than 500 lbs. combined, and warn that the ladder stand should be taken down when not in use, to limit the exposure to the elements. The user is also warned to inspect the tree straps before use. None of these precautions were adhered to so the defense focused on the misuse of the product. However, the plaintiff alleged defective design and manufacture of the tree stand. A jury awarded damages of $18,486,580.72. Fault was allocated equally between the insured and the plaintiff, with the judgment against the insured totaling $9,243,290.36.