First Jury Verdict In Pelvic Mesh MDL Affirmed By Fourth Circuit
Posted on Jan 15, 2016
Yesterday, the Fourth Circuit affirmed a jury’s award to a plaintiff of $250,000 in compensatory damages and $1.75 million in punitive damages on a design defect and failure to warn claim against the proprietors of transvaginal mesh medical devices used to treat pelvic organ prolapse and other pelvic issues. This award was the first of the more than 70,000 similar cases involved in multi-district litigation consolidated in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia to proceed to a jury trial. The defendant manufacturer made four arguments on appeal. First, it...
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DOT Proposes New Rule To Assess Motor Carriers’ Safety Compliance
Posted on Jan 15, 2016
Earlier today, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced a rulemaking proposal to improve the agency’s ability to identify non-compliant motor carriers by integrating on-road safety data from inspections, in addition to the results of carrier investigations and crash reports, into the agency’s safety fitness rating methodology to determine a motor carrier’s overall safety fitness (on a monthly basis). Under the new criteria, a motor carrier will either be “fit” or “unfit” for service...
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2015 Year in Review
Posted on Jan 7, 2016
Earlier today, we released the 2015 Year in Review, which assembles the 20 posts from last year that received the most reader interest.
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Scrutinize Any Agreements Involving Temporary Workers In Case Of Workplace Incident
Posted on Jan 6, 2016
In any agreements covering temporary workers, make sure to carefully review the provisions that a reviewing court likely would examine should an injury to one of the workers occur while performing the contracted-for services for purposes of assessing litigation risk. Specifically, pay close attention to any provisions purporting to classify which entity (or entities) is the appropriate employer and any provisions relating to the exercise of control over the workers. Yesterday, for example, in a North Carolina state court case, the court reviewed the relationship between a contractor that...
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Railroad Must Produce Event Recorder Data For Longer Time Period Before Derailment
Posted on Jan 5, 2016
Following last year’s crude oil train derailment in West Virginia, the railroad brought suit against the company responsible for maintaining the track. The railroad alleged that the derailment was caused by the defendant company removing anchors from the track in anticipation of replacing the existing rail (the replacement allegedly was supposed to take place the same day as the accident, but the anchors were still missing when the train passed). In discovery, the railroad produced the event recorder data for only the last ten minutes (1.5 miles) leading up to the derailment. The...
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District Judge Tosses Contribution/Indemnity Claim Where Not Supported With Specific Facts
Posted on Dec 23, 2015
In a subrogation action brought by an insurer following a boiler explosion in a medical facility, Defendant A cross-claimed against Defendant B alleging contribution or indemnity. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia granted Defendant B’s motion to dismiss the cross-claim based on Rule 12(b)(6) where the cross-claim merely stated that 1) Defendant B was named in the insurer’s complaint as contributing to the injuries of the insured; 2) Defendant A was not negligent; and 3) in the event any of the defendants are found liable, Defendant A “is...
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Preparing For Crisis Management
Posted on Dec 18, 2015
Sutherland partners Matt Gatewood and Susan Lafferty recently presented a Legal Quick Hit to the ACC’s Energy Committee on the fundamentals of preparedness for crisis management following significant operational failures. The outline of that presentation is below: Identify the risk inherent in every operation Monitor the pulse of industry changes, including new hazards and threats Provide systems for training new personnel and understanding industry trends Define (and conduct training on) the roles and responsibilities in a crisis Understand enforcement risks and potential exposure...
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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>>