Rippy v. Shepard
Annotate this CasePetitioner sued respondent under the dangerous instrumentality doctrine after sustaining injuries caused by respondent's farm tractor. Petitioner sought review of the decision of the First District Court of Appeal, which held that a farm tractor was not a dangerous instrumentality as a matter of law. In so holding, the district court rejected petitioner's contentions that, because a farm tractor was a motor vehicle and because it was of such size and character as to be peculiarly dangerous in its operation, a farm tractor was a dangerous instrumentality. The court held that the dangerous instrumentality doctrine could apply to motor vehicles other than automobiles that have the ability to cause serious injury, and Southern Cotton Oil Co. v. Anderson, where the court concluded that the weight, speed, and mechanism of an automobile or motor vehicle made it particularly dangerous when in operation. Therefore, a farm tractor was a dangerous instrumentality and the First District's decision was quashed.
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