Products liability

Law Reporter, Oct 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.

No preemption of failure-to-warn claim against generic drug manufacturer

The Court of Appeals of Indiana held that the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA), 21 U.S.C. [sec][sec] 301 et seq., does not preempt state law claims against the manufacturer of a generic drug alleging failure to warn of the risk of combining acetaminophen and alcohol. Plaintiff was represented by *Jeffrey T. Sampson, *Gary E. Becker, and * Kevin J. Renfro, all of Louisville, Ky.

Bell v. Lollar, 791 N.E.2d 849 (Ind. Ct. App. 2003).

Unreasonably dangerous termiticide product

Arbitration award for a woman who was diagnosed with myeloid metaplasia, a rare blood disease that developed into fatal leukemia, about two years after a pesticide company treated the soil around her home with the termiticide Pryfon 6. Her daughter, on behalf of her estate, sued the pest control company, alleging the woman's leukemia had been caused by exposure to the termiticide, which had leached from the soil into a shallow well located near the home's foundation. Plaintiff was represented by *J. Scott Mullins, * Brett Goodson, and R. Lanahan Goodman, all of Cincinnati, Ohio.

Parsley v. Terminix Int'l, U.S. Dist. Ct., S.D. Ohio, binding arbitration, No. C3973994, Mar. 6, 2003.

Inadequate testing of cardboard-box-making machine

Settlement for a man who suffered degloving and crush injuries to his left hand when he leaned his hand on the side bed of a cardboard-box-making machine, causing the bed to flex downward and enlarging the opening between the bed and the guard above it, permitting the man's fingers to enter the machine's nip point. He and his wife sued two companies that manufactured components of the machine, alleging failure to adequately test the machine to ensure workers were protected from the nip point. Plaintiffs were represented by *Alan M. Feldman and Daniel J. Mann, both of Philadelphia, Pa. Documents in this case are available through die Court Document Sets section in the back of this issue, courtesy of plaintiffs' counsel.

Markle v. Langston Corp., U.S. Dist. Ct., E.D. Pa., No. 02-2607, May 28, 2003.

Removal of adjustable safety stops on weight machine

Settlement and verdict for a man who suffered spinal fractures at C3-7, rendering him quadriplegic, when he lost control of the bar on the weight machine he was using and 320 pounds of weight fell onto his spine. He sued the company that manufactured the machine, alleging it was defective and unreasonably dangerous in that defendant had removed the adjustable safety stops, which could have prevented the weights from falling onto his spine, and the machine's "dead stop," located 21 inches above the ground, was too low to prevent injury. Suit against the gym alleged, among other claims, strict liability for providing a dangerous piece of equipment. Plaintiff was represented by *Steven C. Smith, William D. Chapman, and Robert J. Hadlock, all of Santa Ana, Cal. Documents in this case are available through the Court Document Sets section in the back of this issue, courtesy of Mr. Smith and Mr. Chapman.

Bostick v. Flex Equip. Co., Cal., Los Angeles County Super. Ct., No. SC066205, July 28, 2003.

Court erred in admitting evidence of comparative fault, failing to give strict liability failure-to-warn instruction

A Florida appellate court held that a car passenger's claim that defective design of the vehicle's reclining seat back enhanced his injury constituted a crashworthiness claim, and, therefore, the trial court erred in admitting evidence on comparative fault. The court also officially recognized strict liability failure to warn as a cause of action, following another Florida appellate district in Ferayorni v. Hyundai Motor Co., 711 So. 2d 1167 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1998), 17 PLLR 135 (Aug. 1998). Plaintiff in Griffin was represented by *Donald M. Hinkle and John Beranek, Tallahassee, Fla., and *Robert A. Robbins, Miami, Fla. Documents in these cases are available through the Court Document Sets section in the back of this issue, courtesy of Mr. Hinkle and *Thomas D. Lardin, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., plaintiffs counsel in Ferayorni.

Griffin v. Kia. Motors Corp., 843 So. 2d 336 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2003).

Overly aggressive deployment of air bag in pickup truck

Settlement for a woman who suffered a brain injury when the front-seat passenger air bag in the pickup truck hi which she was riding deployed aggressively in a low-speed collision, striking her in the head. She and her husband sued the manufacturer of the truck, alleging the air bag was defective and unreasonably dangerous in that it was designed to deploy with too much force. Plaintiffs also alleged the air bag's crash sensors had been set to deploy in a low-speed collision, in which the force of the air bag can cause more harm than the collision itself. Plaintiffs' counsel were *George W. Fryhofer III and *Leigh H. Martin, Atlanta, Ga., and Frank H. Childs, Macon, Ga.