Richelman v. Kewanee Machinery and Conveyor Co.

Mark Richelman (plaintiff), a two-year-old, stuck his leg into a grain auger on his grandfather's farm and was badly injured; no one saw whether he was trying to use it, playing, or just tripped. Richelman sued the auger's manufacturer, Kewanee Machinery and Conveyor Co. (defendant), for design defect under both strict liability and negligence. The auger's design engineer testified he'd based the gap between the guard bars on his own size-12 shoe. The jury found for Richelman. Kewanee appealed, arguing under prior precedent (Winnett) that a toddler's injury couldn't be reasonably foreseeable as a matter of law.