Law, Business and Society 11th Edition by Tony McAdams

Exercise 37

Robert McGlothlin, an employee of Thomson Consumer Electronics in Bloomington, Indiana, was injured while loading televisions into a semi-trailer when the trailer's "landing gear" (retractable legs that support the front of the trailer when it is not attached to the semi-tractor) collapsed. McGlothlin sued the owner of the trailer, among others, claiming that the defendants' repair and inspection procedures for latent (hidden) defects were inadequate. Should the court treat latent defects differently than patent (observable) defects in determining when a legal duty exists Explain. See McGlothlin v. M U Trucking, 688 N.E.2d 1243 (Ind. S.Ct. 1997).