CASE RESULTS DEPEND UPON A VARIETY OF FACTORS UNIQUE TO EACH CASE. CASE RESULTS DO NOT GUARANTEE OR PREDICT A SIMILAR RESULT IN ANY FUTURE CASE.
On March, 29, 2022, an Alabama jury unanimously agreed that Husqvarna and its riding mower were not responsible in the death of a lawncare maintenance worker. The case, Easterwood v Husqvarna Professional Products, Inc., involved the overturn of a zero-turn radius (ZTR) mower down an embankment at a vacation resort that resulted in the death of the worker. In their claim, plaintiffs alleged design defects including a lack of ROPS (rollover protection structure), which at the time of sale in 2011 the customer chose not to have ROPS installed on the machine. Additionally, they claimed Husqvarna failed to provide customers with adequate warnings regarding rollovers. However, at trial Husqvarna demonstrated that the worker lost control of the mower on a steep embankment and that ROPS would not have prevented the fatal head injury under the circumstances of this crash. In closing arguments, counsel for plaintiffs asked the jury for $20 million.
Easterwood v Husqvarna Professional Products, Inc., United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama, 2:19-1065
Plaintiff was represented by Graham Esdale and Beasley Allen
Defendant was represented by Jeffrey Warren of Bowman and Brooke LLP