Louisiana Federal Judge Dramatically Reduces $9 Billion Punitive Damage Award To $37 Million
Posted on Oct 30, 2014 in Product Liability | Comments Off on Louisiana Federal Judge Dramatically Reduces $9 Billion Punitive Damage Award To $37 Million
On Monday, U.S. District Judge Rebecca Doherty (Western District of Louisiana) cut a total punitive damage award from $9 billion to $36.875 million, an award 244 times smaller than the jury had determined. The case involved the first trial in an MDL involving the potentially unsafe effects of a diabetes drug. Throughout the lengthy almost 200-page opinion, Judge Doherty expresses her...
Eighth Circuit Affirms Dismissal Of Brakeman’s Retaliatory FRSA Claim
Posted on Oct 29, 2014 in Investigations, Litigation, Transportation, Workplace Safety | Comments Off on Eighth Circuit Affirms Dismissal Of Brakeman’s Retaliatory FRSA Claim
In December 2009, a railroad brakeman with a long history of good work performance committed a serious safety violation for which he accepted responsibility and agreed to disciplinary measures including a year of probation. In September 2010, the railroad dismissed the brakeman following an investigation into a separate serious safety violation committed in June 2010. In March 2011,...
Consumer Product Safety Commission Announces $4.3 Million Settlement With Mini-Bike/Go-Cart Manufacturer
Posted on Oct 29, 2014 in Construction, Product Liability | Comments Off on Consumer Product Safety Commission Announces $4.3 Million Settlement With Mini-Bike/Go-Cart Manufacturer
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced yesterday that it reached a settlement with the manufacturer of mini-bikes and go-carts for $4.3 million after the manufacturer failed to immediately report to the CPSC alleged defects and an unreasonable risk of serious injury involving eleven of the company’s models. The CPSC had alleged that the gas cap could leak or...
Offshore Welder’s Estate’s Tort Claims Can Proceed To Trial
Posted on Oct 28, 2014 in Energy/Environmental, OSHA, Workplace Safety | Comments Off on Offshore Welder’s Estate’s Tort Claims Can Proceed To Trial
In November 2012, a welder was injured in an explosion on an offshore platform in the Gulf of Mexico and later died from his injuries. In August 2014, one of the offshore contractor defendants moved for summary judgment, contending that at all material times, the welder was its borrowed employee under the nine-factor test set forth by the Fifth Circuit in Ruiz v. Shell Oil Co., and...
Contractor’s Employee Wins $21.7 Million Verdict From Power Company Following Workplace Injury
Posted on Oct 28, 2014 in Product Liability | Comments Off on Contractor’s Employee Wins $21.7 Million Verdict From Power Company Following Workplace Injury
A construction company’s worker who was paralyzed from the neck down while working on scaffolding at a power company’s electrical substation received a $21.7 million verdict last week from a Maryland jury. The judge trimmed the original $36 million award to $21.7 million because non-economic damages under Maryland law are capped at $770,000. The central claim in the suit was for...
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