Siegler v. Kuhlman
Washington Supreme Court
502 P.2d 1181 (1972)
A fully loaded gasoline tanker trailer driven by Aaron Kuhlman (defendant) unexpectedly detached from the truck and landed upside down on a roadway, where minutes later a teenage driver crashed into it, igniting an explosion that killed her; her representative, Siegler (plaintiff), sued Kuhlman, the truck's owner, and the manufacturer for negligence and strict liability. The trial court refused to instruct the jury on res ipsa loquitur or strict liability, the jury found for the defendants, and Siegler's appeal to an intermediate court failed before reaching the state supreme court.
Whether the hauling of gasoline over the public roadways as freight is an abnormally dangerous activity with a high risk of harm or injury to others which cannot be eliminated through the exercise of due care, warranting imposition of strict liability for damages resulting from an explosion.