Ray v. Downes
South Dakota Supreme Court
576 N.W.2d 896 (1998)
Donald Ray (plaintiff), an experienced farm worker, voluntarily offered to help Phillip Waldner, an employee of a harvesting contractor hired by farm owner Harold Downes (defendants), position an auger beneath a truck by getting underneath the vehicle while Waldner drove it into place; Ray planned to signal Waldner to stop once the auger was set, but Waldner neither heard Ray's shout nor saw his signal, and the truck's rear wheels ran over Ray's leg, seriously injuring him. Ray and his wife sued for negligence and loss of consortium; the defendants argued Ray assumed the risk by volunteering and moved for summary judgment, which the trial court granted, and the Rays appealed.
Whether a plaintiff's voluntary encounter with a known danger relieves a defendant of an underlying duty of care.