A man whose leg had to be amputated after he was hit by a boat's propeller recovered $2.5 million. In 2005, Jacob Brochtrup was wakeboarding with friends on Lake Austin using a boat manufactured by Sea Ray, a division of Brunswick Corp., and powered by a sterndrive engine made by Mercury Marine, another division of Brunswick. Brochtrup was on the stern of the boat when the driver began moving forward, at which point Brochtrup entered the water. The driver then put the boat in reverse and the propeller struck Brochtrup on his right leg, severing the bone and surrounding tissue. He blamed Sea Ray and Mercury Marine, alleging the sterndrive was defectively designed in that it lacked a guard or shield around the propeller. The manufacturers denied that the product was defective or unreasonably dangerous, but the jury found them 66 percent liable for the incident. Brochtrup and the boat's driver were each found 17 percent liable, and $3.9 million verdict was reduced due to their negligence.
