Vessel Owner Did Not Breach “Turnover Duty” Where Injury-Causing Repairs Were Within General Scope Of Shipyard Inspection And Repair
Posted on Jul 23, 2014
A harbor worker brought claims against a vessel owner under the Longshore and Harbor Workers Compensation Act (“LHWCA”) for injuries he sustained when one of the vessel’s hatch covers blew off during an air pressure test of airtight integrity. The vessel owner filed for summary judgment, arguing that the undisputed facts showed that the vessel owner did not breach any applicable duty, specifically its “turnover duty,” which relates to the condition of the ship upon the commencement of shipyard operations and requires shipowners to exercise ordinary care so that the ship and equipment are in...
Continue Reading
Louisiana Federal Court Finds Offshore Helicopter Operator Liable For $1.3 Million In Crash
Posted on Jul 21, 2014
An offshore worker severely injured in a crash when a helicopter had to abort a take-off from an offshore oil platform brought suit against the helicopter operator and its insurer, the helicopter manufacturer, and the platform owner for negligence. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana granted summary judgment to the manufacturer, but allowed the plaintiffs’ claims to proceed to a two-day bench trial against the other defendants. The injured worker claimed that the helicopter operator was liable under respondeat superior for the alleged negligence of the pilot. The...
Continue Reading
$11.6 Million Asbestos-Exposure Verdict In Texas Not Supported By Sufficient Evidence
Posted on Jul 18, 2014
The Supreme Court of Texas held last week that the standard of substantial factor causation previously recognized by the court in asbestosis cases also applies to mesothelioma cases. The case involved claims by the estate of a 40-year old individual who died from mesothelioma against 40 defendants based on asbestos exposure. In 2006, a jury awarded the estate $6.8 million in compensatory damages and $4.8 million in punitive damages. The court of appeals, however, found the evidence of causation to be legally insufficient and rendered a take-nothing judgment. The Supreme Court of Texas...
Continue Reading
Defendants Win Summary Judgment In Australian Plane Crash Case In Illinois Federal Court
Posted on Jul 16, 2014
The estate administrators of victims of an Australia plane crash sued three companies in the United States alleging that the pilots’ navigational charts and the plane’s ground proximity warning system (“GPWS”) caused the crash. In granting the defendants’ motion for summary judgment, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois held that the plaintiffs failed to establish a prima facie case that the navigational chart contributed to the crash or that the GPWS was defective and also contributed to the crash. Additionally, the court concluded that the defendants did not have...
Continue Reading
Asbestos MDL Court Concludes Punitive Damages For Unseaworthiness Allowed For Seaman But Not For A Seaman’s Personal Representative In Survival Actions
Posted on Jul 15, 2014
In the consolidated asbestos products liability MDL pending in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the court had the opportunity last week to address significant issues with respect to the maritime cases in the MDL brought by various merchant marines and their representatives, survivors, and spouses. The court considered whether punitive damages are available to seamen bringing actions based on the general maritime doctrine of unseaworthiness and, if so, would punitive damages be available under maritime law in cases arising from alleged asbestos exposure. In a...
Continue Reading
Tenth Circuit Confirms Need To Ensure Safety Recommendations Are Adequately Considered And Implemented
Posted on Jul 14, 2014
The Tenth Circuit affirmed a district court’s grant of summary judgment to the owner of an oil refinery on a worker’s intentional tort claim arising from a workplace injury. The worker was a coker process operator and was injured while removing the head of a coke drum, a process that OSHA previously highlighted as carrying particular dangers when drums are removed and “hot spots” remain inside the drum and emit a geyser of hot fluid when the head of the drum is removed. The worker was significantly injured during such a procedure and sued claiming the company willfully injured him, which...
Continue Reading
Judge In Surgical Mesh Products MDL Warns Parties Of Cumulative Expert Testimony
Posted on Jul 14, 2014
As part of seven MDLs involving surgical mesh products manufactured to treat female stress urinary incontinence, the presiding judge sorted through a number of Daubert expert challenges last week. The cases are assigned to U.S. District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia. In one of the cases involving a medical device that included a mechanism used to place a mesh tape, or sling, under the urethra to provide support to the urethra, the court considered expert challenges to seven of the plaintiffs’ experts and five of the...
Continue Reading
FEATURED
The Crisis Response & Incident Investigation Team at Eversheds Sutherland has substantial experience in guiding companies through crises, big and small, in providing a coordinated response to help mitigate risk and liability. More>>