Powers v. Taser International, Inc.

As a prerequisite to carrying a Taser, deputy sheriff Powers (plaintiff) was required to be shocked with an M-26 taser during training; Taser's (defendant) warnings, based on testing on animals and over 3,000 people, disclosed a risk of uncontrollable muscle contractions causing falls, but none of Taser's prior testing had revealed the device could cause contractions violent enough to fracture bone, which is exactly what happened to Powers's spine. Powers, who also learned he had severe osteoporosis during treatment, had to resign from his job, and sued Taser for inadequate warning; the jury, instructed to consider only what Taser knew or should have known at the time it sold the device, found for Taser, and Powers appealed the jury instruction.