Micallef v. Miehle Co.
Court of Appeals of New York
348 N.E.2d 571 (1976)
Paul Micallef (plaintiff) was injured when his hand was caught in a printing press manufactured by Miehle-Gross Dexter, Inc. (defendant) while he was trying to fix it; the press had no safety guards and its shut-off button was too far away to reach in time. Micallef sued for design defect, and the jury found for him, but the appellate division reversed, relying on an older New York precedent (Campo v. Scofield) that barred recovery for injuries from obvious, or 'patent,' product dangers. Miehle appealed to the New York Court of Appeals.
Whether a manufacturer is obligated to exercise reasonable care in product design to avoid an unreasonable risk of harm to anyone likely to be exposed to the product's danger during intended or foreseeable use.