Kubota Slapped With 11M Fine

[ItBmine]

Okay, I'm gunna try real hard hear and bite my tongue and not use extremely harsh language and descriptions of those involved.
A 17 year old @!#$%^&*^%$#@ just got awarded an 11 million dollar settlement. He was riding ON THE STEP in front of the windshield and behind the bucket on a Kubota skid steer while another Dumb @$$ kid was driving it. Idiot in the cab moved the loader arms which had a grapple on and crushes idiot number one and paralyzes him.

The jury rules against Kubota because even though stupidity like this is outlined NOT to do in the owners manual, there was not a STICKER on the front of the skid steer saying "do not ride here."

Before my blood boils even more, I 'll keep this short and say this shows the judicial system is a complete FARCE. The idiot's on the skid steer should have been exterminated anyway if you're that dumb and this is completely insane for Kubota to have to pay them 11 million dollars. Do you really think a sticker would have helped these two dumb #&%$#?

Far as I'm concerned, the judge and everyone on that jury should be fined, and locked away for life in a mental institution.

 

[85Hokie]

Here is the full story for those that wish to read it:

https://www.equipmentworld.com/work...ards-man-11m-after-kubota-skid-steer-accident

Reminds me of the ol hot coffee in the lady's lap that got burned badly.

As much as I thought she was an idiot - the company that made the coffee had it soooo hot that it scalded her, where as a "normal" hot coffee would not have.

SO - despite all safety precautions, there are those that seem to rise above everything that will call common sense. Also remember - there were 12 people that had to vote on this, HOW many of them ever have operated a skid steer or even a tractor with an FEL?

 

[TheOldHokie]

Also remember - there were 12 people that had to vote on this, HOW many of them ever have operated a skid steer or even a tractor with an FEL?

It is clear the trial court originally ruled in favor of Kubota but was reversed on appeal:

But the Kansas Court of Appeals overturned the district court’s decision in 2020 and sent it back to the court for further proceedings. It cited a previous Kansas Supreme Court case: “In the vast majority of cases, the question of negligence is a factual determination for the jury, not a legal question for the court.”

I don't know the specifics of the liability law they were adjudicating or what instructions the jury received from the trial court judge but on the face of it the jury seems to be lacking in ordinary common sense. Being a civil suit it may not have been 12 people and a simple majority was likely all that was needed.

Dan

 

[jimh406]

I get that it was a bad accident. $11 million for that sticker error seems excessive and the people involved should take some responsibility . At some point, companies can't stay in business. Then, what if the sticker was covered with mud etc, or removed by a sticker removal person.

As far as coffee is concerned, the same thing, the person holding the coffee deserves to take some responsibility.

 

[ItBmine]

This is what the world has become. Absolutely no common sense and protect the snowflakes. Unreal.

Get ready for more safety stickers. Manufacturers won't have to worry about paint any more. They'll be completely covered in stickers.

 

[DustyRusty]

I know that Vermeer takes safety stickers and instruction books very seriously. I purchased a used Vermeer wood chipper from a local Vermeer factory sales office, and within a week later I received a packet with all the Vermeer instruction books and a kit of completely new safety stickers to install on the machine. Since all the old ones are still on the machine, I still have them to give to the next owner.
I can see Kubota sending every Kubota owner a new bunch of safety stickers to install on the tractors. The interesting thing is that if you want replacement safety stickers from Kubota they are very expensive, at least 10 times more than they must cost to produce. I would think that they would want to make the price reasonable and have the owners of the equipment replace them when they become damaged.

 

[Lil Foot]

From a couple of my earlier posts:

Yes, there has been some benefits from lawyers in this country. I would estimate that good might offset about .05% of the bad they have done. If it were up to me, most lawyers and some judges would be disbarred, and paying heavy fines & even jail times for the thousands upon thousands of frivolous lawsuits brought every year. And civil juries need to be re-educated, or maybe have to pay a portion of their ridiculous awards. 3 million for spilled coffee that you put in your own lap? Really? When virtually evey car made in the last 50 years has 2-10 cup holders? Sounds like you were 100% at fault, and should have to pay everyone's court costs, and maybe get fined for being a moron. What ever happened to taking responsibility for your own actions?

At the height of the Rhino lawsuit time, a fifteen year old girl, (no drivers license) driving an illegally modified Rhino, (non-factory seats in the back) drove down the highway in front of the Glamis Beach Store, (illegally) and pulled up to the RR crossing. She and others waited 20 minutes for a train to pass; it passed, and when the gates stayed down and the lights continued to flash & the bells continued to ring, she drove down the wrong side of the highway, (illegally) drove around the barriers, (illegally) and was promptly smashed by the second train heading the opposite direction on the second set of tracks. If I remember right, she lived, her two brothers riding in the back died. Her family sued everyone under the sun, including Yamaha. How could even the tiniest part of this be Yamaha's fault? The lawyers who file this crap should be penalized, as should the moron judge who let it get to court. This doesn't even speak to the 20 or so other entities or persons they sued in this matter, all of whom had no resposiblity for the incident.
I could go on for hours, but you get my drift.
Rant off. Sorry, one of my many peeves on the condition of society today.

I have mentioned that I used to do testing/prototyping/etc for a california company that made & sold Rhino high performance accessories. That company was hit with three lawsuits, (one was the above mentioned one) the second went like this:
Guy orders a set of MasterCraft seats; when they come in, he gets a call to bring his Rhino in for installation of his new seats. (installation is included in the price he has already paid) He declines the installation, (already paid for) and says he will install them himself. They explain the the facts to him, but he insists he will install them himself. They make him sign a notarized waiver releasing the company of all responsibility because they didn't do the installation. He signs, and sometime later does a high speed rollover in which the seats come out, injuring he and his wife. He sues the company. I don't offhand remember the details of the third lawsuit, but it was equally stupid.
Now the point of this story.
The owner of the company consults a law firm, who tell him that none of the suits has any merit whatsoever, and he will win easily in each case.
But it will cost him between $200K and $260K to defend himself for each suit, with only about a 50% chance of recovering the costs.
Lawyers get rich again.
He ended up having to sell the company to a friend in the racing community, who had the deep pockets and patience to defend the company against the suits.
The new owner won the lawsuits easily, and last I heard, he was suing the suers to recover his costs.
Lawyers get rich again.
Opps, rant off again.

 

[DustyRusty]

The only way that all this nonsense will end is when the losing party is responsible for the winning party's legal expenses. Until this happens, there is no downside to all these previous suits. The Trial Lawyers Association or whatever they are called, would fight this tooth and nail because it would cut into their practices dramatically.

There are more than 1.3 million lawyers in the United States. To be more precise, there were 1,331,290 active lawyers as of Jan. 1, 2023, according to the ABA National Lawyer Population Survey, a tally of lawyers in every U.S. state and territory.*

In 2022, the state with the highest number of lawyers in the United States was California, with a figure of approximately 88,000.*

*Google

 

[NCL4701]

The civil tort industry (and that’s all it is; “justice” is lipstick on a pig) is about squeezing a golden goose as hard as possible without killing it. And there are a few so stupid they don’t even care if they kill it. The goose may be equipment manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies, insurance companies, or any entity with deep enough pockets to make it worth taking a pot shot at them.

I’m not much on following European trends but I think they got it right with the “loser pays” rule. Doesn’t matter who had the deeper pockets. You sue McDonald’s over hot coffee under loser pays rules it’s not no harm, no foul if you lose; it’s you have an automatic judgment against you for McDonald’s defense cost. That really slows litigation filings, particularly the “throw it against the wall and see if it sticks” variety.

But we’ll never do that in the U.S. because the general path to becoming a law maker is to start your career as a lawyer. So lawyers make the laws and make sure the most well protected class in the U.S. after politicians is lawyers.

 

[MapleLeafFarmer]

i don't know nothing about laws and lawsuits but my thoughts and prayers to the young man, his family and those around him as for sure this incident sounds life changing.

 

[85Hokie]

As a kid that came up in the ol skateboard era ( steel wheels at first) We would get ahold of the mail truck or the UPS truck and as he drove up the street we would grab that back handrail and ride up the street without the driver even knowing - yeah we were dumb kids....

but I don't think I will ever see a sticker on the back of a UPS truck that says " no free skateboard rides allowed"


IF WE all go back that tell stories of the stupid asinine things we did as kids - hell, all of us would be millionaires!!!

Remember placing Billy on the steel trash can AFTER dropping the lit M80 in the can watching him rise up??? OK - maybe ya'll didnt do that stuff we did!

However - stupid is still king, and somehow WE"LL all pay for it!!!

(On a side note = I cant wait to hear other crazy stories of younger days!)

 

[DustyRusty]

One of the problems with warning labels is that you are telling the public that your product is inherently dangerous and that it shouldn't be in the hands of the general public. Today, in some jurisdictions, you can't use a canoe on a lake unless you have completed a boater safety course. If you operate a motorcycle in MA you must be wearing a helmet, and when you cross over into CT, there is no helmet law so you don't need one. Should motorcycles have a warning label that says "Watch out for cars, they can kill you."?

 

[Geezer3d]

A large part of the problem is that the people on the jury often think that no one is hurt when they award a large settlement on someone who is injured because it is paid by a 'heartless' large corporation or the corporation's insurance provider. It doesn't matter if there was actually any flaw in the equipment or who was at fault; the deep pockets are assumed to be able to pay without feeling the pain.

 

[MapleLeafFarmer]

re: warning labels.

brings up what i have recently experienced in much of Europe.
much of Europe now require EV (battery and hybrid) vehicles to carry warning labels to identify to other drivers, public parking authorities, condo's/stratas, emergency services, pedestrians, etc... that an EV or hybrid is nearby.

So if an ICE doesn't want to park nearby, or let inside an indoor parkade, etc... electric is easily identifiable.

 

[GeoHorn]

Humor: The law says you will be judged by a jury of your “peers”.
Apparently the law did exactly as it was supposed-to…. the jury was full of idiots.

On a more Serious note:
Personally, I think it is WRONG to blame a Judge…whose job is to conduct a jury- trial according to the correct procedures.….making certain the law is followed.…which means he allows evidence to be presented and lets the JURY decide the case. He does NOT decide the guilty party….so You Guys who are angry at the Judge are violating the spirit and legality of our wonderful country. It’s not the judges’ fault if Kubota and Kubota Insurance Co. hires lousy lawyers…. and it may help explain why co’s settle out of court in many cases.

This sentence might have a favorable outcome for all of us who want replacement stickers and parts from Kubota, if those stickers/parts involve Kubota liability.

…. How do you angry fellows see Texas Gov. Greg Abbott…who jogged down a sidewalk which had a WARNING Sign that told him not to walk beneath the rotten tree that men are cuttng down because it is dangerous and can fall on you…. but Greg Abbott did so anyway…and the tree put him in a wheelchair and he sued the homeowner and the tree service company winning $M‘s worth of monthly payments for the rest of his life.
After Greg Abbott became Gov of Tx…he signed law Blocking such lawsuit winnings for others.

 

[JimmyJazz]

Here in Pittsburgh where manufacturing once reigned supreme all of the tall buildings used to sport names like US Steel, Westinghouse and Koppers. Now these buildings have the names of Law firms emblazoned upon them. Reed Smith, K&L Gates (yes that Gates father), Dewey Screwem and Howe...... Thats where the money is today I am afraid.

 

[fried1765]

Here in Pittsburgh where manufacturing once reigned supreme all of the tall buildings used to sport names like US Steel, Westinghouse and Koppers. Now these buildings have the names of Law firms emblazoned upon them. Reed Smith, K&L Gates (yes that Gates father), Dewey Screwem and Howe...... Thats where the money is today I am afraid.

Maybe...... Dewey Cheatem & Howe?

 

[JimmyJazz]

Maybe...... Dewey Cheatem & Howe?

That was the predecessor firm.

 

[David Page]

i don't know nothing about laws and lawsuits but my thoughts and prayers to the young man, his family and those around him as for sure this incident sounds life changing.

Prayers and if I knew his family maybe some help or money if I had it but no money from court.

 

[Chris_]

This kid was a worker on a job site when this happened - he and another teen were being transported to and from a work area.

It's well known that young people are more likely to be hurt/injured and that proper procedures, policies, and yes even stickers and signage all help prevent injuries.

The article makes no mention of an OSHA payment or a business liability but I assume they would have a role or a payout here as well.

In any case this here is a young man who made a poor decision and is now facing a life in a wheelchair or worse. How many of us have done similar or worse and walked away. I'm glad he has been compensated, this may allow him to live to his normal life expectancy.