Sixth Circuit Finds Work As MSHA Inspector Not “Coal Mine Employment”
Posted on Sep 21, 2014 in Construction | Comments Off on Sixth Circuit Finds Work As MSHA Inspector Not “Coal Mine Employment”
The Sixth Circuit concluded that work as a Mine Safety and Health Administration mine inspector is not qualifying coal mine employment for purposes of the Black Lung Benefits Act. The court agreed that the mine inspector satisfied the “situs” test of the act given that the inspector spent much of his workday underground in coal mines. The inspector, however, did not meet the...
Deceased Fish Plant Worker’s Estate Limited To Workers’ Comp Recovery Despite Disturbing Claims
Posted on Sep 21, 2014 in Construction, Litigation | Comments Off on Deceased Fish Plant Worker’s Estate Limited To Workers’ Comp Recovery Despite Disturbing Claims
Although the facts alleged by the family of a worker killed in a Mississippi fish processing facility are disturbing, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi concluded that they do not give rise to justiciable tort claims beyond Mississippi’s workers’ compensation regime. The complaint alleged that following the worker’s conversations with union...
Non-Manufacturing U.S. Distributor May Be Liable For Defective Product Where Owned In Part By Foreign Manufacturer Under North Dakota Law
Posted on Sep 20, 2014 in Construction, Product Liability | Comments Off on Non-Manufacturing U.S. Distributor May Be Liable For Defective Product Where Owned In Part By Foreign Manufacturer Under North Dakota Law
The U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota confronted the extent to which non-manufacturing sellers can be liable under North Dakota law in a case involving a worker’s injuries sustained when a hose part of a paint-spray system failed while painting the inside of a wind turbine tower. Under a North Dakota law, a non-manufacturing seller is to be dismissed from a case once...
Missouri Appellate Court Agrees That Partners In Smelting Facility Placed Profits Over Safety
Posted on Sep 18, 2014 in Construction, Energy/Environmental, Process Safety, Product Liability | Comments Off on Missouri Appellate Court Agrees That Partners In Smelting Facility Placed Profits Over Safety
Following a 13-week trial in 2011, a Missouri jury awarded sixteen children alleged exposed to lead poisoning from contaminated air and soil a total of nearly $40 million in compensatory damages and $320 million in punitive damages that was allocated among three owners of a lead smelter from 1986 to 1994. The children’s lawyers’ case was focused on the owners placing business profits...
Third Circuit Denies Plaintiff’s Request For New Trial In Pennsylvania Ladder Case
Posted on Sep 17, 2014 in Investigations | Comments Off on Third Circuit Denies Plaintiff’s Request For New Trial In Pennsylvania Ladder Case
The Third Circuit denied a plaintiff’s request for a new trial in a diversity products-liability action filed in federal court against a ladder manufacturer. In the underlying action, the plaintiff filed suit against the manufacturer after being injured when falling off one of the manufacturer’s ladders. The plaintiff argued he was entitled to a new trial because the district court...
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