Oregon’s Highest Court Instructs Intermediate Appellate Court To Review Jury Verdict for Manufacturer of Riding Lawnmower
Posted on Apr 17, 2014
Following an accident in which a father unsuspectingly backed a riding lawnmower over his daughter, the family brought suit against the lawnmower manufacturer alleging that the mower was defective and unreasonably dangerous because the mower provided a mechanism for overriding a safety shutoff feature that otherwise would have stopped the cutting blades when going in reverse, the button for overriding the automatic shutoff was on the dashboard, and there were no warnings or instructions addressing the proper operation of the mower in reverse. An Oregon jury found for the manufacturer on all...
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Oil Refinery Targeted by Wyoming OSHA for Alleged Violations from September 2013 Explosion
Posted on Apr 16, 2014
Wyoming OSHA issued seven citations to a refinery for violations stemming from a September 2013 explosion and fire caused by leaking hydrogen that ignited. The citations include willful, serious, and repeat serious violations and proposed penalties totaling $201,000. While no injuries resulted from the incident, Wyoming OSHA contends that the incident would have been prevented if the refinery had conducted internal inspections and followed necessary safety procedures. Previously, the refinery received a $707,000 fine in October 2013 for violations arising from a May 2013...
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Missouri Lowers Standard for Employees To Prove Retaliatory Discharge for Exercising Workers’ Compensation Rights
Posted on Apr 16, 2014
The Supreme Court of Missouri held that to make a case for retaliatory discharge for exercising workers’ compensation rights, a worker need only show that the filing of a workers’ compensation claim was a “contributing factor” to the employer’s decision. This case overrules a previous line of Missouri cases holding that to make a prima facie case for retaliatory discharge, an employee must demonstrate that the filing of a claim was the “exclusive factor” in the employer’s decision to terminate the worker. The court premised the change on the fact that the exclusive causation standard...
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Natural Gas Well Owner/Operator Must Indemnify Drilling Services Contractor for Alleged Well Water Contamination Caused by Fracking Based on Contract
Posted on Apr 16, 2014
An Ohio drilling services company provided services under a drilling contract to a Pennsylvania natural gas production company in areas of the Appalachian Basin. Following the drilling of a natural gas well in Jackson County, West Virginia, a local family sued the production company and the drilling services company alleging that the company discharged hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) fluid into the ground, which contaminated the family’s well water supply and caused personal injury and property damage. Relying on the indemnification language in the drilling contract, the drilling services...
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Fourth Circuit Upholds ALJ Finding that Former Miner Entitled to 15-Year Rebuttable Presumption Under Black Lung Act
Posted on Apr 15, 2014
The Fourth Circuit concluded that substantial evidence existed to support an ALJ’s application of the Black Lung Act’s 15-year rebuttable presumption favoring an award of benefits to claimants that establish they were employed as a miner for 15 years and suffer from a totally disabling respiratory or pulmonary impairment. The mining company challenged the ALJ’s application of the presumption, arguing primarily that the ALJ improperly restricted the company’s ability to rebut the presumption by failing to consider all three elements required under the act: (1) existence of clinical or legal...
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Defective Design and Failure To Warn Claims Allowed To Proceed Against High Pressure Hose Manufacturer in Kentucky Federal Court
Posted on Apr 15, 2014
While using an ultra-high pressure hose to clean heavy machinery in a process known as “hydroblasting” or “shotgunning” at a Kentucky manufacturing plant, a worker died after the hose ruptured and a powerful stream of water penetrated the worker’s abdomen. The worker’s estate brought defective design and failure to warn claims against the hose manufacturer claiming that the hose was unreasonably dangerous to users because it failed to include a built-in safety shroud. The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky denied summary judgment to the hose manufacturer because use of...
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Product Liability Case Involving Alleged Runaway Mine Car Allowed To Proceed in Alabama Federal Court
Posted on Apr 15, 2014
Following significant injuries sustained while riding a mine car that allegedly malfunctioned, a worker brought suit against the manufacturer of two cooling fans in the mine car. The worker’s employer, however, discarded the cooling fans and could not locate them upon receipt of an evidence preservation letter from the plaintiff’s attorney approximately 35 days following the incident. The cooling fan manufacturer filed a motion to dismiss based upon this spoliation of evidence, but the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama denied the motion, explaining that dismissal...
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