Products liability

Law Reporter, Aug 2003

ATLA's Products Liability Law Reporter includes a broad range of products liability cases. Here are examples of the kinds of cases appearing in each issue of PLLR.

Insufficiently strong roof on sport-utility vehicle

Settlement on behalf of a man who died when the 1997 Chevrolet S-10 Blazer sport-utility vehicle he was driving rolled over and the roof crushed in. His wife sued the manufacturer, alleging the vehicle was not crashworthy in that the roof was not strong enough to withstand the foreseeable forces of a rollover. Plaintiff was represented by *Robert A. Slattery and *Darryl J. Lee, both of Waukesha, Wis.

McFadden v. General Motors Corp., Wis., Brown County Cir. Ct., No. 02 CV 1663, Mar. 19, 2003.

Connecticut abandons superseding cause doctrine in cases involving multiple acts of negligence

The Connecticut Supreme Court abandoned the doctrine of superseding cause in cases involving multiple acts of negligence. Thus, a manufacturing defendant could be liable to workers who were injured when the platform they were on collapsed, even though their employer may have failed to provide adequate fall protection and another worker may have used the wrong nails to secure the platform. Plaintiffs were represented by *Joel T. Faxon, Bridgeport, Conn., and *David Beekman and *Andrew J. Maloney III, both of New York, N.Y. Documents in this case are available through the Court Document Sets section in the back of this issue, courtesy of Mr. Faxon.

Barry v. Quality Steel Prods., Inc., 820 A.2d 258 (Conn. 2003).

Allegations attorneys hired expert to testify falsely and withheld documents make out fraud on court claim

The Supreme Court of South Carolina held claims an automaker's attorneys hired an expert to provide false testimony and knowingly withheld critical documents make out a claim for fraud on the court sufficient to set aside an earlier defense judgment. Plaintiff was represented by *A. Camden Lewis, *Mark W. Hardee, and Ariail E. King, all of Columbia, S.C. Documents in this case are available through the Court Document Sets section in the back of this issue, courtesy of Mr. Lewis.

Chewning v. Ford Motor Co., 579 S.E.2d 605 (S.C. 2003).

Failure to warn of drug's risk of liver injury

Verdict for a woman who suffered liver problems about three months after she began taking the diabetes drug Rezulin. She sued the manufacturer and its parent corporation, alleging that the drug was unreasonably dangerous and that the manufacturer had failed to adequately warn physicians and consumers of the risk of liver disease, had withheld safety information about the drug, and had misled the medical community-including plaintiff's doctor-about the risk. Plaintiff was represented by * Christopher A. Seeger, *David R. Buchanan, and *Stuart P. Slotnick, all of New York, N.Y., *Troy A. Rafferty, Pensacola, Fla., and *Christopher V. Tisi, Washington, D.C.

Morgado v. Warner-Lambert Co., N.Y., New York County Sup. Ct., No. 403243/2001, Apr. 2, 2003.

Federal law does not preempt suit against meat plant for supplying beef contaminated with E. coli bacteria

A Wisconsin appellate court held federal law does not preempt claims alleging injuries due to illness from food that was cross-contaminated by meat infected with E. coli bacteria. Plaintiffs in this case were represented by *William M. Cannon and * Edward E. Robinson, both of Brook-field, Wis.; *Michael J. Hanralian and Thomas Koch, both of Milwaukee, Wis.; and *Denis W. Stearns, Seattle, Wash.

Kriefall v. Sizzler USA Franchise, Inc., No. 02-1939, 2003 WL 21058182 (Wis. Ct. App. May 13, 2003).

Defective design of semiautomatic pistol

Settlements and verdict for a boy who was rendered quadriplegic when he was struck by a bullet accidentally fired from a Bryco Model 38 .380 caliber semiautomatic pistol. His mother sued the companies that designed, manufactured, and distributed the pistol and their alter-egos, alleging defective design in that (1) the gun's safety had to be placed in the "fire" position before the gun could be unloaded, increasing the chances of an accidental discharge; (2) it lacked a trigger lock or integral locking device to deter unauthorized use; and (3) the black-colored magazine, when in the chrome gun, resembled an empty handle. Plaintiffin this case was represented by * Richard R. Ruggieri, San Rafae, Cal.

Maxfield v. Bryco Arms, CaL, Alameda County Super. Ct., No. C-841636-4, May 7, 2003.

Undersized hoist cylinder on dump truck trailer

Settlement on behalf of a man who suffered fatal injuries while he was in the cab of a tractor-trailer dumping sand when the trailer's hoist cylinder buckled and smashed the cab. His wife, individually and on behalf of his estate, sued the trailer manufacturer, alleging defendant had installed too small a cylinder and failed to adequately test the trailer's load-bearing capacity with the undersized cylinder. Suit against the cylinder manufacturer alleged failure to warn the trailer manufacturer that it had not tested the cylinder for columnar loading. Plaintiff was represented by *Bernard R. Nevoral, Chicago, Ill.