Subsequent Remedial Measures Excluded From Evidence Following Well Control Event
Posted on Feb 8, 2015
Following an oil and gas well blowout in Louisiana on November 18, 2009, the well operator changed its official barrier policy and circulated a new policy throughout its operations team. On December 11, 2009, the company then conducted a safety stand down meeting that included a PowerPoint presentation as a result of the well blowout discussing operational changes and steps that should be taken to improve worker safety during future operations. In the litigation that ensued, the operator argued that the new barrier policy and evidence of the safety stand down meeting and accompanying...
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Understand State’s Mediation Privilege Rules Before Mediation Preparations
Posted on Feb 7, 2015
It may be surprising to some, but not all states have the same rules regarding privilege of statements used in mediation. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania recently considered the boundaries of the privilege under Pennsylvania law. In the case, following a workplace injury, a plaintiff received a settlement of $2.5 million, which consisted of a payment of $1,750,000 from an insurer of an involved company and $750,000 from the insured company. The company then brought suit against the insurer alleging that the insurer unreasonably refused to pay more than...
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Coal Company’s Discharges Unlawful According To W.Va. Federal Court
Posted on Feb 5, 2015
After a four-day bench trial, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia concluded that a coal company had committed at least one violation of its permits by discharging high levels of ionic pollution (as measured by conductivity) into an area stream and the discharges caused or materially contributed to a significant adverse impact to the chemical and biological components of the applicable stream’s aquatic ecosystem. The suit had been brought under the citizen suit provisions of the Clean Water Act and the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act. The...
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Railroad Can Argue Contributory Negligence Where FELA Provision Not Enacted “For Safety Of Employees”
Posted on Feb 5, 2015
Following a train collision caused at least in part because a train was moving 33 miles per hour in an area where speed was restricted to 20 miles per hour, a railroad terminated the engineer and conductor. The conductor, who had sustained injuries from jumping off the moving train before the collision, brought suit under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA) for negligence and under the Federal Railroad Safety Act. The conductor argued that the railroad could not assert a defense of contributory negligence. An employee’s recovery under FELA may be diminished in...
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Hazardous Product Manufacturer Has No Duty Of Care To Unforeseeable Product User In Oklahoma
Posted on Feb 4, 2015
The manufacturer of a fast dry acrylic lacquer thinner for application in the painting of vehicles was sued in Oklahoma after an individual who had acquired a secondhand barrel containing the substance was killed when he was using a plasma cutter to cut off the barrel’s lid. The manufacturer includes on each barrel sold a warning label that reads “FOR PROFESSIONAL USE ONLY” and that “Empty containers may contain product residue, including flammable or explosive vapors. DO NOT cut, puncture or weld on or near containers.” The manufacturer makes no effort to...
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Safety Guard Designed To Be Periodically Removable Creates Question Of Fact On Design Defect Claims
Posted on Feb 3, 2015
The workers’ compensation insurer of an injured worker’s employer brought product liability and negligence claims to recoup insurance payments made to the worker who sustained significant injuries when being cut by a large table saw. The saw had been sold with a plastic blade guard but the guard was not in place at the time of the incident. Last week, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York denied the summary judgment motion filed by the defendant manufacturer and the defendant retailer and moved the case toward trial. The defendants had argued that under...
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Punitive Damages Award Not Remitted In First MDL Pelvic Mesh Trial
Posted on Feb 1, 2015
In the first jury trial within the seven MDLs related to surgical mesh products to treat pelvic organ prolapse and stress urinary incontinence assigned to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, a jury awarded a plaintiff $250,000 in compensatory damages and $1.75 million in punitive damages. The defendant drug manufacturer moved the court to remit the punitive damages award and the plaintiff asked the court to declare Georgia’s punitive damages statute unconstitutional. The court concluded that Georgia’s punitive damage statute, which provides that...
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