Steven J. Sharp - How H.R. 3509 Would let a Negligent Farm Equipment Manufacturer Escape Accountability

Seventeen year-old Steven J. Sharp, of Richland, Oregon, spent the summer of 1992 working on a farm, baling hay. On August 22nd, a tragic accident changed Steven's life forever. As Steven was baling hay he turned off the tractor's power takeoff switch, which sends power to the baler behind the tractor. The baler turned off and stopped, but hay had bunched up in the front of the baler. He got off the tractor and went around to the baler to clear the hay. As he was reaching in to clear the hay, the baler self-started and severed off both of his arms. The details of that traumatic episode are excruciating; the only reason Steven escaped alive was his extraordinary presence of mind.

In Steven's case, the tractor baler had a defective design that caused the baler to start on its own without warning, after the operator turned it off. This defective 970 Case tractor hay baler was 20 years old at the time of Steven's accident. The manufacturer knew of this defective model=s long history of problems and the deadly injuries that it caused, yet, company executives did nothing, even though they could have fixed the problem with a small 70-cent part. They did not even give notification or warning to the owners and operators of these dangerous machines.

The Steven J. Sharp Public Service Award, established in 1997, is given to those attorneys and their clients whose cases tell the story of American civil justice and help educate state and national policy makers and the public about the importance of consumers' rights. At the time of Steven's case, legislation was pending that would have barred him from taking his case against the manufacturer to court. He spoke out to show lawmakers how legislation to limit access to the courts would deprive people like him of justice.

H.R. 3509 Hurts Workers

• If H.R. 3509 had been law at the time of Steven's accident, he would have had no cause of action against the manufacturer, Case, who was found to be negligent by a jury and then later by the Wisconsin State Supreme Court.
  
  
• Farming is one of the most dangerous occupations in the United States. U.S. farm workers are more likely to be killed using tractors than any other farm equipment." Each year 500 to 600 deaths occur when tractors rollover and crush the operator. As early as 1949 manufacturers discovered that roll guards were necessary to protect the operators, yet up until 1986, two-thirds of the tractors used on farms in the US lacked these important safety devices.
  
  
• Tractors are large investments for small farm businesses and are not frequently replaced. They are made and marketed to last longer than 12 years. When a worker is injured or killed on a tractor that is older than 12 years, H.R. 3509 will prohibit them from holding the negligent manufacturer accountable.

Sources:

1. Gehlhausen, John. Danger in the Fields: Tractor Rollovers. Trial. November 1991. (pp. 49-54)