Mesman v. Crane Pro Services, a Division of Konecranes, Inc.
Seventh Circuit
409 F.3d 846 (2005)
Konecranes, Inc. (defendant) renovated a steel-unloading crane for Infra-Metals so it could be operated by remote control instead of from an onboard cab, but the now-unused cab remained close enough to the boxcars being unloaded that the crane could strike it, dropping steel to the ground. Konecranes added an emergency-stop button to the remote but didn't remove the inoperative cab. When operator Van Til saw the crane about to hit the cab, he mistakenly hit the down button instead of the stop button; the crane struck the cab, and falling steel seriously injured coworker John Mesman (plaintiff). A jury found Konecranes negligent for failing to remove the cab, but the trial judge set aside the verdict and entered judgment for Konecranes.
Whether a manufacturer's failure to take a precaution against an accident is negligent only if the cost of the precaution is less than the probability of the accident multiplied by the resulting loss.