16 1106 trial, a jury, finding in Baugh’s favor, awarded him over $11 million in damages. He sued the ladder’s manufacturer, Cuprum, alleging that the ladder had unexpectedly collapsed and caused him to fall be cause it had been defectively designed. John Baugh fell off a ladder while replacing gutter screws and suffered a traumatic brain injury. _ ARGUED NOVEMDECIDED JANU_ Before WOOD, Chief Judge, and POSNER and WILLIAMS, Cir cuit Judges. _ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division. 16 1106 JOHN BAUGH, by and through his Wife and Next Friend, Sharon Baugh, Plaintiff Appellee, v. In the United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit _ No. Baugh supplied sufficient evidence that a feasible alternative existed, and that the accident was more likely attributable to the ladder’s original defective design than to its improper use. A reasonable jury could find in Baugh’s favor. Baugh’s experts’ methodologies were adequate Cuprum’s challenges concerned the weight of their testimony rather than its admissibility. The Seventh Circuit affirmed an award of $11 million. There was testimony concerning how many pounds per square inch could be exerted on the ladder and how Baugh was standing on the ladder. On remand, Baugh elicited testimony from neighbors and a paramedic, all of whom arrived post‐accident, and from experts relating to the cause of the accident and the severity of his resulting injuries. Cuprum argued that the accident occurred because Baugh climbed too high on the ladder, standing on its fourth step and pail shelf, neither of which were intended to be stood on. In a suit against Cuprum, which designed and manufactured the ladder, alleging a design defect under strict liability and negligence theories, Baugh argued that the ladder was not designed to accommodate 200-pound individuals and that a feasible alternate design would have prevented the accident. Baugh sustained significant bleeding in his brain, which caused seizures, dementia, and quadriplegia. Baugh fell off a five‐foot, A‐frame aluminum ladder while working on a gutter.
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