Alabama Jury Levies $9.9 Million Verdict In Auto Crash Case Involving Design And Placement Of Muffler
Posted on Oct 21, 2014 in Product Liability, Transportation | Comments Off on Alabama Jury Levies $9.9 Million Verdict In Auto Crash Case Involving Design And Placement Of Muffler
On Monday, an Alabama jury levied a $9.9 million verdict against a car manufacturer following a 2010 crash that resulted in a fuel-fed fire that killed the passenger and injured the driver. The verdict followed a three-week trial. The plaintiffs’ attorney claimed that when the car crashed into a utility pole, a sharp edge of the metal muffler near the fuel tank caused the fuel tank...
Georgia Design Defect Claims Preempted By Federal Law For FDA-Approved Drugs In Interstate Commerce
Posted on Oct 16, 2014 in Product Liability | Comments Off on Georgia Design Defect Claims Preempted By Federal Law For FDA-Approved Drugs In Interstate Commerce
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio recently found that in a case alleging damages from the use of a birth control patch, even though the plaintiff would have stated a valid design defect cause of action under Georgia law, those claims failed as a matter of law because the defendant manufacturer could not both comply with the state-law duty to alter the...
Proposed Liability Expert Rejected In Table Saw Design Case
Posted on Oct 16, 2014 in Investigations, Product Liability | Comments Off on Proposed Liability Expert Rejected In Table Saw Design Case
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York has precluded the testimony of a plaintiff’s proposed liability expert in a case alleging that a table saw that severed part of plaintiff’s left hand was defectively designed. Adopting the magistrate judge’s recommendations, the court found that the proposed expert had testified at approximately 100 trials and had been...
Claims Against Truck Manufacturer For Defective Grab Handle Go To Jury In California Federal Court
Posted on Oct 15, 2014 in Product Liability, Transportation | Comments Off on Claims Against Truck Manufacturer For Defective Grab Handle Go To Jury In California Federal Court
Claims against a truck manufacturer for allegedly designing a defective grab handle—used to aid truck operators entering and exiting the cab—will proceed to a jury trial in California federal court after a judge denied the manufacturer’s summary judgment motions. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California held that the plaintiff, who fell from a truck after a grab...
Punitive Damages Not Recoverable By Seaman Under Jones Act Or General Maritime Law According To Fifth Circuit
Posted on Oct 12, 2014 in Energy/Environmental, OSHA, Product Liability, Workplace Safety | Comments Off on Punitive Damages Not Recoverable By Seaman Under Jones Act Or General Maritime Law According To Fifth Circuit
In an en banc opinion, the Fifth Circuit reaffirmed that the survivors of a Jones Act seaman as well as injured seamen are not eligible to recover punitive damages under the Jones Act or general maritime law. The court’s opinion reversed a controversial panel opinion, which had held that such damages were available despite years of precedent to the contrary. In the underlying action,...
Surgical Mesh MDL Court Finds Punitive Damage Claims Under West Virginia Law Can Go To Jury
Posted on Oct 10, 2014 in Product Liability | Comments Off on Surgical Mesh MDL Court Finds Punitive Damage Claims Under West Virginia Law Can Go To Jury
In the MDL involving more than 60,000 cases involving the use of transvaginal surgical mesh to treat pelvic organ prolapse and stress urinary incontinence, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia ruled yesterday that in cases where the plaintiffs were implanted with and allegedly injured by the products in West Virginia, West Virginia law would apply based on...
FEATURED
The Crisis Response & Incident Investigation Team at Eversheds Sutherland has substantial experience in guiding companies through crises, big and small, in providing a coordinated response to help mitigate risk and liability. More>>