Justice Paul Wooten
Oscar Buitrago alleged that his left hand was partially crushed by a multi-terrain loader equipped with a pallet fork attachment. The loader was designed and manufactured by Caterpillar Inc, and was sold to H.O. Penn Machinery Company Inc. and H.O. Machinery Leasing, LLC ("H.O. Penn"). H.O. Penn sold it to nonparty Oscar’s Rock and Dirt. Buitrago, president and part owner of Oscar’s Rock and Dirt, asserted causes of action against H.O. Penn and Caterpillar for strict products liability, negligent design, manufacture, and sale of the loader, failure to warn, and breach of warranty. H.O. Penn and Caterpillar contended the loader was not defectively designed because the crush danger was open and obvious. The court found triable issues regarding design of the loader sufficient to preclude H.O. Penn and Caterpillar’s motion for summary judgment. Caterpillar’s repeated contentions that Buitrago was an experienced loader operator and fully appreciated the danger of placing his left hand at a crush point were mere speculation, not based on the evidentiary record. Buitrago had raised triable issues regarding, among other things, whether Buitrago was warned, and whether Caterpillar should have required a warning decal on the loader arms.
