Shull v. B.F. Goodrich Co.
Indiana Court of Appeals
477 N.E.2d 924 (1985)
Truck driver Everett Shull (plaintiff) was injured when a dock-plate at a B.F. Goodrich (defendant) plant malfunctioned and struck him; a Goodrich witness admitted the plates were historically serviced only reactively after problems arose and that Goodrich had experienced prior malfunctions with its dock-plates, including one likely faulty and due for replacement. The trial court refused to instruct the jury on res ipsa loquitur, finding insufficient evidence of proximate cause, exclusive defendant control, and that the accident wouldn't normally occur absent negligence; the jury found for Goodrich, and the Shulls appealed.
Whether the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur is applicable if the injuring instrumentality was under the defendant's exclusive control, and the accident is one that in the ordinary course of things does not happen if the party in control of the instrumentality uses proper care.