Culbertson

Facts

Plaintiff appeals from the trial court’s award of costs, including expert fees, and the court’s denial of his motion to tax costs. Plaintiff sued defendant R. D. Werner Company, Inc. for injuries allegedly received as a proximate result of a design defect in a ladder manufactured by the defendant and provided to the plaintiff by his employer. Defendant’s discovery established that the ladder had been modified by replacing the original foot pads with foot pads of incorrect size, replacement of recessed rivets that were not recessed and by the use of washers on the rivets. (The defendant does not use washers in its manufacturing process.) The defendant’s defense was that if the ladder slid causing the plaintiff to fall, the slide was caused by the modification made to the ladder after the ladder left the possession of the defendant.

Plaintiff was diagnosed as having a ruptured intervertebral disc and the plaintiff made a demand of $1.5 million for settlement.

The results of defendant’s discovery not only included the fact that the ladder had been modified after it had left the possession of the defendant, but also: (1) investigation films showing plaintiff engaging…