Personal Injury News: Pick of Last Month: Dec-2018
Tire Retread Case: $11.7 M Compensatory Damages Returned
On October 3, 2018, the Philadelphia County jury for the Court of Common Pleas returned an $11.7 million verdict against Silvi Concrete Products in a lawsuit involving an accident caused due to a retread tire on the company's truck. The decision was made for the compensatory damages and other interest.
Plaintiff's lawsuit against the company stated a Bridgestone L315 tire on the Silvi truck retreaded by McCarthy Tire using Bridgestone Bandag technology was faulty and led to the accident in which the plaintiff’s arm got severely hurt and cost her infant daughter her leg. Silvi was the sole defendant remaining to settle in the case. The plaintiff's attorney stated other defendants in the case namely Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations, Bridgestone Bandag and McCarthy Tire Service had all settled once the appellate issues were resolved in the plaintiffs' favor at the start of the trial. Bridgestone clarified that it agreed for a confidential settlement to avoid facing an eight-week trial and stated, "The tire line at issue has an exemplary track record. In fact, this was the first and only claim involving a Bridgestone L315 truck tire". The tire maker asserted the tire is in service for more than seven years and has operated safely under severe conditions. Silvi settled punitive damages in a confidential out-of-court settlement.
A federal jury fined Costa Crociere S.P.A. Company, the owner of the cruise ship MS Costa Luminosa over a million for the negligence of the plaintiff's safety. The incident took place in 2014 when the plaintiff slipped on a cleaning bucket aboard the cruise ship, injuring her left arm and shoulder. The lawsuit claimed that the company failed to maintain basic safety amenities.
$1.85 Million To Plaintiff Over Lead Paint Exposure
A Hartford jury returned with a verdict of $1.85 million in favor of the plaintiff who progressively fell ill due to severe lead-paint poisoning after painting the exterior of a house. The lawsuit names the owner of the house and T&T Complete Landscaping as the defendants who assured the house was lead-free when the plaintiff took the job of painting it.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff was diagnosed with severe lead-paint poisoning because of the exposure to airborne lead in 2013 when he worked at least three days a week for seven months at the house. The defense tried to put the blame on the plaintiff, stating he “failed to exercise due care while sanding and painting the defendant’s house as a reasonable painter with specialized training would be expected to do.”
The verdict came in on November 8 in Hartford Superior Court following a seven-day trial.
Lead poisoning is a major issue in the United States for decades. It can result in nervous system injury, brain damage, seizures, coma, and even death. Children are at high risk of lead poisoning as they are more exposed to toxic paint that peels off the walls. Many lawsuits are filed across the nations against landlords and owners of dilapidated properties who fail to take care of the premises of the house that result in severe lead problem among the residents.
Construction Worker Gets $24.1 M in a Brain Injury Lawsuit
According to a November 7 notice to the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, three companies agreed to pay $24.1 million to compensate a construction worker, who became "infant-like" after suffering a brain injury at the construction of the Conshohocken Rowing Center.
The plaintiffs' counsel stated the settlement involved $16 million insurance policy by C. Raymond Davis & Sons Inc., $6 million policy by subcontractor Budget Maintenance, and a $2.1 million by Accelerated Fire Protection, another subcontractor involved in the project. The construction worker whose job involved caulking came under a drop ceiling tile and fell about 15 feet followed by another 15 feet fall down a concrete staircase. Court papers filed by his family stated the disaster left him in a semi-conscious state, leaving him unable to walk, communicate, or take care of himself. In his pretrial memo, plaintiff mentioned neither C. Raymond Davis nor Budget Maintenance made any safety accommodations like scaffolding.
A similar lawsuit was filed in 2015 by the plaintiff in Los Angeles County Superior Court, where the victim suffered from serious brain damage post an accident. The plaintiff was riding his bicycle when he was hit by the truck's mirror that resulted in an imbalance leading him to crash. He received a settlement of $9.1 million, which is the largest ever in the history of bicycle-related verdicts of Los Angeles. Caltrans and the city of Los Angeles will settle the lawsuit where Caltrans will 40% penalty and the city will pay 60% of the penalty.
Judge Favors Settlement of a Wrongful Death Lawsuit
On November 16, Moniteau County Judge Kenneth Hayden approved a wrongful death settlement in a lawsuit filed by the family of an August 2016 car crash victim.
According to the reports from Missouri Highway Patrol, the defendant was driving westbound on U.S. 50, east of the Business 50 West junction, when he cut across the center line and hit the victim's car. After the collision, both the cars caught fire, and the victim was found dead at the scene. The defendant who was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the incident was taken to University Hospital with severe injuries.
Victim's family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the defendant in February in Moniteau County. Judge Hayden approved a $100,000 settlement amount asked by the family of the deceased 20-year-old girl. The settlement amount was evenly split between the victim's parents. The defendant denied being negligent for the accident.
In another civil suit linked to the same accident, Judge Hayden approved a motion to dismiss punitive damages against two bars, Spectators and The Mission located on East High Street in Jefferson City. The victim's mother was included as a party in the lawsuit against the bars. The request for actual damages of at least $ 25,000 from each business will continue. The victim's lawsuit claimed the defendant was already intoxicated before consuming more alcohol at both the bars.
The Dram Shop Act allows victims to sue establishment serving alcohol to already drunk visitors. However, lawyers representing the Mission asserted the law does not provide punitive damages recovery; hence, it must be dismissed from the lawsuit. In their court records, the lawyers told furnishing alcohol is not the prime reason for the unfortunate accident; it was utter negligence of the defendant which led to the accident. A new hearing date for the civil case has not been issued yet.
Earlier, in September 2018, a Jefferson County jury announced a $44 million settlement to the two brothers who witnessed the death of their brother at AltairStrickland. The three brothers worked at AltairStrickland where an unfortunate incident took place and one of the brothers succumbed to death after a pipe fell on him while working. The lawsuit holds the company liable for the accident as it failed to provide adequate rescue plans and on-site medics. The company is liable to pay 45 per cent of the settlement from the $44 million. The rest of the penalty will be split among other defendants including Exxon Mobil Oil Corp., B&G Crane Service, LLC.
Train-Truck Collision Suit Ends In A $2,576,069 Verdict
On November 9, a Tampa jury awarded $2,576,069 to a Jacksonville CSX railroad conductor who got severely bruised when his freight train collided with a tractor-trailer at a Lakeland, Fla. railroad crossing. The final judgment was given out on November 14 by Circuit Judge Cheryl Thomas.
On November 19, 2015, the conductor was on a CSX freight train scheduled for Jacksonville when a tractor-trailer carrying new automobiles and driven by a Lakeland truck driver entered the rail crossing. As the truck driver approached the crossing, the oncoming train of five locomotives and 34 rail cars sounded its whistle with headlights on. As the engineer activated the emergency brakes, the conductor bent down on the cab floor to save his head from flying objects, and the impact jerked and twisted his body, striking his head. Initially, he suffered from back strain and head contusion, but later, he suffered chronic back pain. Eventually, unable to bear the pain, he quit his job after three weeks of joining again.
The lawsuit was filed against the truck driver and his employer on March 8, 2016, alleging negligent conduct and liability for the accident. In 2017, the conductor was implanted with a spinal cord stimulator device to treat his back pain, but the device was removed due to a serious sepsis infection.
Ahead of the trial, the court granted a summary judgment considering the truck driver and his employer 100% liable after he admitted driving without heed and ignoring the approaching train, and violating the company policy by talking on his cell during the drive.