Propeller Guard Information Center

Archive for Sea Ray

Litigation Testing of propeller safety devices was defined by Stephen Bolden, author of Motorboat Propeller Injury Accidents, as

“…manufacturers, in performing litigation testing, are not concerned with gathering information for the purpose of redesigning or improving a guard; rather, they are concerned with simply reporting on whatever propeller guard deficiencies they are able to demonstrate through such testing”

When manufacturers test their own products or components against certain criteria or test protocols and their products fail, those involved in the testing process often offer suggestions for improving the product. But when “legal” wants a propeller safety device tested, often against very challenging criteria, the propeller safety device fails or performs poorly in some part of the test, and nobody has any ideas of how it could be improved or ever be made to pass the test, even when the solution is extremely obvious. Read More→

1 Categories : Legal Shorts

Brunswick requested a rehearing of the Jacob Brochtrup v. Mercury Marine and Sea Ray, both divisions of Brunswick Corporation propeller injury case before the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on June 10, 2011.

On page three of Brunswick’s formal request for a rehearing, Brunswick faults Brochtrup for not providing information on the frequency or likelihood of injuries like those he received, no evidence of the number of accidents involving exposed boat propellers, and no proof of the “frequency or likelihood of injuries caused by exposed propellers on boats of this design” (Brunswick claims propeller accidents are rare events).

Then on the top of page 4, Brunswick cites some propeller accident frequency comments made by Peter Chisholm, Mercury Marine Product Safety Manager, during the original trial in U.S. District Court, Texas Western District, Austin Division:

The jury heard no evidence any closer to this subject than the testimony from Peter Chisholm, Mercury Marine’s Product Safety Manager, and that testimony did nothing to help Brochtrup on this point. Chisholm merely agreed that some unspecified number of people are injured by boat propellers each year, but he firmly denied this number was even as large as one hundred.

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0 Categories : Legal Shorts

The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals found for Brochtrup on May 27, 2011 in Brunswick’s appeal of a U.S. District Court, Western District, Austin Division jury finding for Brochtrup resulting from a July 1, 2005 propeller accident. Mercury Marine and Sea Ray are the Brunswick units listed on the case.

On June 10, 2011 Brunswick filed for a rehearing of their appeal before the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. Brunswick’s request for a rehearing is based on two points: Read More→

0 Categories : Legal Shorts