Michigan Federal Court Grants Summary Judgment To Company That Inspected Pipeline Before Rupture
Posted on Oct 14, 2014
The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan granted summary judgment to the company that conducted inspections of an oil pipeline in 2005 that later ruptured in 2010 on claims brought by a property owner. Specifically, the property owner alleged that the inspecting company was negligent in performing its 2005 inspection because the report it provided to the pipeline owner contained two errors: 1) the anomalies in the pipeline were classified as “crack-like,” which referred to a series of closely spaced cracks, rather than “crack-field,” which referred to one continuous...
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OSHA Issues Substantial Proposed Penalty Against Florida Construction Company
Posted on Oct 13, 2014
OSHA has proposed $355,300 in penalties against a Florida-based construction company based on inspections initiated through its Regional Emphasis Program on Falls in Construction. Included in the penalties were three willful safety violation allegations (each for a maximum penalty of $70,000) for failing to provide workers with fall protection systems. OSHA contends that the systems were needed to prevent falls from between 9 and 11 feet while performing roofing work at multiple job sites. OSHA also proposed four repeat violations for allowing workers to use powered nail guns without eye...
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Punitive Damages Not Recoverable By Seaman Under Jones Act Or General Maritime Law According To Fifth Circuit
Posted on Oct 12, 2014
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, the administratrix of a dead seaman’s estate as well as three injured seamen sought compensatory and punitive damages under the Jones Act and general maritime law after an accident occurred on a barge. The...
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Surgical Mesh MDL Court Finds Punitive Damage Claims Under West Virginia Law Can Go To Jury
Posted on Oct 10, 2014
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 the state’s tort choice of law rules of lex loci delicti. The court also denied the defendant’s motion for summary judgment on those plaintiffs’ punitive damages claims, finding that given an alleged material...
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Pilot Denied New Trial In New Hampshire Helicopter Crash Case
Posted on Oct 9, 2014
The pilot of a helicopter that had to conduct an emergency landing brought a suit against the manufacturers of the helicopter, the engine, and the electronic control unit (“ECU”) for defective design. The U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire issued an 80-page opinion last week denying the pilot’s motion for a new trial and for relief from judgment. As the court pinpointed, there was a “staggering disconnect” between the severity of the pilot’s claimed injuries—only $7,000 in recoverable medical expenses and no other monetary damages—and the resources expended in pursuit of...
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Employer May Not Impose Advance Notification Requirement On Employees Who Seek Medical Treatment After Workplace Injury In Illinois
Posted on Oct 9, 2014
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois concluded that under Illinois law, an employer may not impose an advance notification requirement on employees who seek medical treatment following a workplace injury. In the case, the company policy required an employee involved in a workplace injury to first attempt to report the injury to management before seeking professional medical treatment. The failure to make such report was considered grounds for termination according to the policy. After an employee sustained a workplace injury, failed to report it until after...
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Expert Not Allowed To Testify That Product’s Modifications Were Made “Recently”
Posted on Oct 8, 2014
In 2010, a worker using a rubber injection mold press had to have his left hand amputated after having it caught while operating the press. The worker brought suit against the company who used the machine from 1995 to 2007, prior to selling it to his employer, on the grounds that this previous company had disabled the safety systems of the press. All of the experts in the case essentially agreed that the machine’s safety systems—strips that retract the front doors of the press if they sense an obstruction, and limit switches that caused the doors to immediately re-open if they did not...
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