Worker's claim of negligence against equipment repairman is dismissed

Randall Carnell was hurt when he slipped on a puddle of hydraulic oil and fell in his his employer's industrial garage.   Crandall slipped on an oil spill leaking from the rear hub and chain case of a skid steer that had been repaired by a Wolverine Tractor & Equipment repairman three days earlier.  Nevertheless, the mechanic claimed that while he checked the hub and chain case fluid level, he did not perform any work on it.  His bill didn't charge for any work on the hub and chain case.

The Court held that since the skid steer was moved  into the garage after the mechanic completed his work--and could have been tampered with over the weekend--it was "mere speculation" for the injured man to claim that the mechanic had done something to cause the oil leak.  As a result, the injury claim could not be submitted to the jury to test the veracity of his testimony.