An 11-year-old boy exposed his naked genitals to the air intake fan of a cannister vacuum cleaner.

 

His penis was caught in the intake fan and he was castrated. Liability was premised on defective design and negligence theories because (1) the intake fan blades had sharp edges (2) there was no effective guard over the intake fan vent (3) the cleaner could be operated with the top of the cannister open, thus exposing the fan intake while it was revolving.[16]