Vogel bought a hair dryer from General Electric (GE). He used the hair dryer without incident for about three weeks. However, while drying his hair one morning, he received an email message on his phone. Vogel set the dryer down on the bathroom counter but failed to turn it off. The hair dryer continued to run for about five minutes while Vogel typed a response to the email. When Vogel finished typing the email and picked up the dryer, it ignited in his hand. Suffering a severe burn, Vogel filed a suit against GE, alleging that a design defect in the hair dryer caused it to overheat when turned on its side for longer than five minutes (an electrical engineer is prepared to testify to this defect). In its answer to Vogel’s complain, GE countered that Vogel was to blame because a reasonable person would have turned the dryer off before setting it down. Thus, if Vogel had acted reasonably, the dryer would not have overheated and he would not have sustained an injury. Moreover, GE contends the hair dryer complied fully with federal standards for safety (which, in fact, do not address temperature controls for hair dryers placed on their sides).
What must Vogel prove in order to prevail in his claim against GE? Is he likely to prevail? Consider the nature of Vogel’s claim as well as any defenses available to GE in your response.