Does a Texas Employer’s Duty To Maintain a Safe Workplace Extend to Employees Who Are Fully Aware of a Premises Defect? Fifth Circuit Asks Texas Supreme Court To Decide
Posted on Mar 21, 2014 in Litigation | Comments Off on Does a Texas Employer’s Duty To Maintain a Safe Workplace Extend to Employees Who Are Fully Aware of a Premises Defect? Fifth Circuit Asks Texas Supreme Court To Decide
Following a workplace incident in which a janitor hired to clean up a spill fell and sustained injuries, the worker brought suit against his employer in tort. Unlike most states, Texas employers can opt out of the state’s workers’ compensation program, which the employer in this case had done. Texas law, however, makes certain defenses such as contributory negligence and assumption...
Nineteen Illinois Wrongful Death Suits Stemming from Lac-Mégantic Train Derailment Transferred to Maine
Posted on Mar 21, 2014 in Transportation | Comments Off on Nineteen Illinois Wrongful Death Suits Stemming from Lac-Mégantic Train Derailment Transferred to Maine
The U.S. District Court for the District of Maine granted a motion to transfer nineteen wrongful death cases filed in Illinois following the July 6, 2013 derailment of a train carrying Bakken crude oil that exploded and killed 47 people in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, to the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine “based on the Court’s limited finding that claims against certain of the...
Federal OSHA Scrutinizing State OSHA Regimes: Arizona and Indiana Recent Examples
Posted on Mar 20, 2014 in OSHA | Comments Off on Federal OSHA Scrutinizing State OSHA Regimes: Arizona and Indiana Recent Examples
Recent federal reviews of both Arizona and Indiana’s state OSHA policies have revealed that both states fall short of federal OSHA standards. On March 19, federal OSHA sent the Industrial Commission of Arizona a letter advising that Arizona’s standards for protecting residential construction workers from falls were not as effective as federal standards. The letter cited Arizona’s...
Custom Packaging Manufacturer Justified in Terminating Worker on Belief Worker Violated Company’s Safety Absolutes Policy
Posted on Mar 19, 2014 in Litigation | Comments Off on Custom Packaging Manufacturer Justified in Terminating Worker on Belief Worker Violated Company’s Safety Absolutes Policy
During the process of manufacturing custom address labels, a North Carolina worker’s fingers were pulled in between a sheeting machine’s rollers when she placed her hand on the paper to see how much tension existed. She sustained bruises to her hand that required her to go to the hospital. The company’s printing department manager immediately investigated, found no defects with the...
Tenth Circuit Affirms Jury Verdict in Negligent Design Case Against Manufacturer of Truck-Mounted Drill Rig
Posted on Mar 18, 2014 in Energy/Environmental, Investigations, Product Liability | Comments Off on Tenth Circuit Affirms Jury Verdict in Negligent Design Case Against Manufacturer of Truck-Mounted Drill Rig
An Oklahoma rig worker brought suit for strict product liability and negligent design against the manufacturer of a truck-mounted drill rig after suffering catastrophic injuries from becoming entwined in the rig’s auger. On the strict product liability claim, Oklahoma law requires a plaintiff to show that a defect 1) caused the injury; 2) existed at the time it left the manufacturer’s...
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