Crouse Law Offices. International ⁄ National ⁄ Local Accident Litigators

$8.8M Awarded In Defective Product Suit

A New York jury has awarded a 21-year-old woman $8.8 million for injuries she suffered when the pocket of her coat was caught on a bolt of a digger being operated by her stepfather.

The bolt was protruding from the drive shaft of an auger-like post-hole digger and her arm wrapped around the digger when the pocket was caught on the bolt, resulting in the loss of her arm in 2004 when she was only 16-year-old.

The jury cited the manufacturer of the digger, Ford New Holland (now known as Case New Holland) for selling a defective product.   The bolt that caught on the girl’s coat was supposed to be covered by a shield, but the shield broke under normal use and was removed by Peter A. Smith, the owner of the digger, in 1999.  The lawsuit alleges the shield was always inadequate and there is nothing to support the fact it was ever tested.

The jury placed 35% of the blame on Case New Holland and 30% each on Peter A Smith, the  owner of the digger and the person who loaned the digger to the stepfather, and on SMC Corp. from Sioux Fall, S.D., the company who assembled the digger.

Products are often made carelessly, designed without using the most appropriate design standards, are haphazardly tested, or have insufficient instructions, warnings or labels. This includes products around the home.

Personal injury cases involving defective products often involve serious injury and permanent disability. A qualified and experienced personal injury lawyer is needed to make sure you receive the maximum compensation for your loss.

Family Of City Worker Killed In Mower Accident Settles Lawsuit

A confidential last minute settlement has been reach in the lawsuit brought by the family of a city Parks Department employee who was killed in 2003 by a runaway lawnmower, reports the Telegram& Gazette of Worcester, Mass. 

The 54-year-old man died from injuries he sustained when he was run over by a 6,000 lb. large capacity mower as it rolled down a hill.  The man had stopped the mower and shut off the engine before the mower started to roll – he was run over as he tried to halt the machine. 

His widow filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Textron, Inc which owns the Jacobsen Company, manufacturer of the mower.  The lawsuit accused Textron of selling an unsafe and defective product and of breaching its implied warranty of merchantability.  The lawsuit contends the accident was cause by a defective parking brake in which the cable corroded and broke because the vinyl coating did not cover the entire length. 

Textron denied any negligence and claimed the mower had not been properly maintained.

Claim Of Defective Seats Brings Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Honda

A lawsuit has been filed in Texas against Honda Motor Co., Ltd. by the parents of a young woman who died in her 2005 Honda Civic in April of this year, reports the Southeast Texas Record. 

The young woman died when she lost control of her car and skidded off the rain slick road. She hit several trees and even though she was wearing a seatbelt, she was killed when her seat collapsed and she was thrown into the back seat. 

The lawsuit claims the Honda Civic violated the principles of crashworthiness by failing to provide adequate restraint and failed to prevent ejection.  It also claims the car was unreasonably dangerous and defective because the collapsing seat exposed the driver to the risk, hazard and danger of ejection.  Honda is accused of not conducting adequate testing and proper engineering analysis.

$132M Awarded In Ford Rollover Crash

A Jasper County (Mississippi) jury has awarded the family of a young man killed in a rollover crash in 2001 $132 million – the largest award ever against Ford in a lawsuit involving a Ford Explorer or a Ford Expedition reports the Clarion-Ledger.

The 22-year-old, a Meridian High School standout and a top New York Mets baseball prospect, was killed in March 2001 when he was thrown from a 2001 Ford Explorer.  He was driving to spring training in Port St. Lucie, Fl., when he veered to avoid a vehicle and the Ford SUV rolled over.  The lawsuit blamed the death on a defective seatbelt and the tendency for that model Ford to rollover.  Ford settled for an undisclosed amount in the punitive-damage phase of the lawsuit. 

A passenger in the Ford Explorer received $1.5 million for the injuries he sustained in the crash. 

Ford’s corporate spokesman stated excessive speed and the fact the victim was not wearing a seat belt caused the young man’s death. 

Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld an $82.6 million verdict awarded to a woman in California who was paralyzed in an Explorer rollover.

At Crouse Law Offices we have vast experience in product liablity and wrongful death.  If you have been injured or have had a loved one  killed due to a defective product, call us at 1-919-861-0500 or contact us online.

N.C. Couple Receives $1.5M Awarded For Post-Surgery Injury Caused By Hernia Patch

A North Carolina couple has been awarded $1.5 million by a federal jury for injuries the husband suffered when a hernia patch ruptured in his abdomen following surgery, reports The Providence Journal. 

The patch, made by Cranston firm Davol Inc. was implanted in the 52-year-old man in 2005 to repair an abdominal hernia.  The mesh patches are folded in half and inserted behind the hernia through a small incision.  Once inserted it’s supposed to open, but this ring broke under the stress and traveled inside the body, causing swelling, pain and an abscess which had to be drained constantly.  So far he has undergone several surgeries to repair the damage with more expected in the future. He will be able to lift only 5 to 10 pounds for the rest of his life. 

The jury found Doval and its parent company, C.R. Bard Inc., had failed to warn about the dangers of the mesh path and the poor design of the patch was the cause of the couple’s suffering. They awarded $1.3 million to the husband and $200,000 to his wife for the time she spent dressing his wounds.

This case was the second of about 3,000 involving the Kugel Mesh hernia-repair patch made by Davol. 

Defective design, defective manufacture and failure to warn about potential hazards of products are three ways to claim a product is defective.  If you or a loved one suffered a personal injury due to a defective product, contact the experienced attorneys at Crouse Law Firm at 1-919-861-0500 or use our online form.  There is no cost to evaluate your case.