Caterpillar, Inc. v. Shears

In Caterpillar, Inc. v. Shears, 911 S.W.2d 379 (Tex. 1995), the plaintiff, Shears, suffered injuries while operating a front-end loader, when he was struck by another loader. Caterpillar, 911 S.W.2d at 381. Shears brought strict-liability and negligence claims against the manufacturer of the loader for failing to warn him of the hazards of operating a loader without a rollover protective structure ("ROPS"). Id. at 380. The evidence showed that Shears was an experienced operator of heavy equipment. Shears testified that he had seen machinery equipped with a ROPS, but he thought it was to protect the operator from the weather and had no idea of the risks of operating a front-end loader without a ROPS. Id. at 383. The Supreme Court held that Caterpillar did not, as a matter of law, have a duty to warn. Id.