Bernardino Santos-Rodiguez was piloting a boat owned by his friend, Raul Viera-Torres, in waters near Guayama, Puerto Rico. The boat was equipped with a hydraulic steering system manufactured by Seastar Solutions. The rod connecting the steering system to the motor had a ball joint at the end, which broke while the boat was in motion. As a result, Santos was unable to steer and was ejected from the boat, resulting in injuries that paralyzed him. It was later determined that the ball joint failed due to corrosion.

The steering system’s manual informed owners that “[b]i-annual inspection [of the steering system] by a qualified marine mechanic is required.” Viera had acquired the boat second-hand. Viera did not perform maintenance on the boat, did not read the manual or any attached warnings, and did not request maintenance documentation from the previous owner. Instead, Viera hired third-party mechanics to maintain the boat, but none of those mechanics ever told Viera about the corroded ball joint.

Santos sued Seastar, alleging a design defect and a failure to warn. Do you think Santos succeeded on his claims?