AIRCO, INC. v. SIMMONS FIRST NATIONAL BANK, Guardian, et al, 276 Ark. 486

Summary

The patient underwent surgery. During the procedure, an artificial breathing procedure malfunctioned for several minutes, causing the patient to suffer serious lung injury and irreversible brain damage. An action for compensatory and punitive damages was brought against the manufacturer of the breathing machine and others. Before trial, the manufacturer and other defendants admitted liability for compensatory damages. The jury awarded compensatory damages and punitive damages against the manufacturer. On appeal, the court affirmed. The court held that the evidence brought the case within the requirements of Ark. Model Jury Instruction 2nd § 2217 (1974). The court rejected the manufacture's contention that it took a combination of nine separate acts of negligence to bring about the patient's injuries so that consequence was said not to have been natural or probable. The court held that the manufacturer knew from the outset, by its own testing, that an unnecessary component of the ...