Mealey's Personal Injury : Mealey's : Legal News & Analysis

Mealey's Personal Injury

November 17, 2023
Panel Upholds $3.3M Judgment Against Philip Morris For Smoker’s Death From COPD

MIAMI — A Florida appellate panel on Nov. 15 affirmed a trial court’s entry of a $3.3 million judgment in favor of a Cuban immigrant’s estate against a tobacco company that a jury previously found liable for hooking him on cigarettes and causing his death from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), finding that the trial court did not err by denying the company’s pretrial motion for summary judgment.
November 15, 2023
Magistrate Recommends Not Striking Expert Reports In Care Home Negligence Suit

GREENSBORO, N.C. — A North Carolina federal magistrate judge on Nov. 14 recommended denying a skilled nursing facility’s summary judgment motion and motion to strike expert witness reports in a negligence suit against the facility by the estate of a former resident, finding that the estate has shown that failure to comply with the expert disclosure deadline was harmless and there is no basis for summary judgment without excluding the expert reports.
November 15, 2023
Final Approval Of JP Morgan’s $290M Settlement Granted In Epstein Sex Crimes Case

NEW YORK — A federal judge in New York granted final approval of a $290 million settlement to be paid by JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A. (JPMC) in a lawsuit by a class of women allegedly abused or trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein who accuse JPMC of being liable for facilitating those crimes by maintaining Epstein’s accounts and awarded class counsel 30% of the settlement amount and expenses of more than $1 million.
November 14, 2023
Judge Allows Expert’s Testimony, Denies Summary Judgment In Fatal Rollover Case

MILWAUKEE — A Wisconsin federal magistrate judge denied a motion to exclude an engineering expert retained by the estate of a man killed when a Caterpillar Inc. dump truck rolled over, finding that his testimony meets the requirements of Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals Inc. and the manufacturer’s objections can be addressed through cross-examination.
November 14, 2023
5th Circuit Panel Upholds Lower Court Invalidation Of ATF Ghost Gun Parts Ban

NEW ORLEANS — A panel of the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a decision of a Texas federal court finding unlawful a rule promulgated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) that broadened the definition of “firearm” to include parts of “ghost guns,” which can be assembled into weapons but, before the rule, were not required to have serial numbers and could be obtained without a firearms background check.
November 10, 2023
$500,000 Verdict Returned For Bellwether Plaintiff In Hernia Mesh Case

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A jury in an Ohio federal court has awarded $500,000 to a man who alleges that he suffered permanent injuries and significant pain and suffering when the hernia mesh used during surgery failed.
November 09, 2023
Ankle Monitoring Device Maker Moves To Dismiss Claims Alleging Injuries To Skin

DENVER — The manufacturer of an ankle monitoring device moved to dismiss a putative class complaint alleging that the device caused skin injuries, arguing that the laws of the state in which the arrest occurred should apply and that the plaintiff fails to state a claim.
November 08, 2023
Settlement Reached In Coverage Row With Care Home, Insurer, Ancillary Care Company

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — A nursing home and an ancillary care company and its insurer on Nov. 7 filed a stipulation of dismissal in North Carolina federal court advising that they settled the nursing home’s breach of contract suit against the company and insurer seeking to have them indemnify and defend the nursing home in an underlying arbitration proceeding related to the death of a former resident.
November 07, 2023
Split Panel Affirms Judgment For Senior Living Facility In Premises Liability Case

ATLANTA — A split Georgia appellate court panel affirmed a lower court’s grant of summary judgment to an assisted living facility in a premises liability suit against it after a resident’s fall led to his death, finding that because the crack in the pavement where the man tripped “was a commonly occurring open and obvious static condition,” the facility lacked the superior knowledge necessary to prove premises liability.
November 07, 2023
Man Alleging Injury Through CoolSculpting Appeals To U.S. Supreme Court

WASHINGTON, D.C. — CoolSculpting manufacturer Zeltiq Aesthetics Inc. on Nov. 6 waived its right to file a response to a petition for a writ of certiorari filed by a man who argues that an appellate court erred in granting the company summary judgment after finding that he was warned about the risk of paradoxical adipose hyperplasia (PAH) and that his claim fails under the risk-utility or consumer expectations tests.
November 07, 2023
Pennsylvania High Court To Review Disease Act Exclusivity In Asbestos Case

HARRISBURG, Pa. — The Pennsylvania Supreme Court granted a petition and agreed to decide whether under the state’s Occupational Disease Act, a man’s asbestos-related injury case properly belongs before a trial court or the state’s workers’ compensation system.
November 03, 2023
Judge: 1 Claim Remains, Some Expert Testimony Allowed In Cruise Injury Case

MIAMI — A Florida federal judge partially dismissed a lawsuit against a cruise liner company filed by a woman who claims to have been injured in her stateroom and partially granted its motion to exclude certain experts from testifying.
November 02, 2023
Del. Court Denies Dismissal, Says Claims Against Rehab Don’t Fall Under PREP Act

NEW CASTLE, Del. — A Delaware state court denied dismissal to a skilled nursing and rehabilitation facility in a wrongful death and negligence suit against it filed by the daughter of a woman who died after purportedly contracting COVID-19 at the facility, finding that the complaint was timely filed and that the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (PREP Act) does not provide immunity for the claims against the facility.
November 02, 2023
Flint Class Plaintiffs Propose $8M Settlement With Engineering Firm

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The class plaintiffs in the Flint water crisis litigation have moved in Michigan federal court for preliminary approval of an $8 million settlement with one of the firms that provided engineering and consulting services to the city of Flint.
November 02, 2023
California High Court Rejects Asbestos-Talc Experts Ruling Case

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The California Supreme Court on Nov. 1 denied Johnson & Johnson’s petition for review asking the court to decide the standard applied to evidentiary rulings, the admission of nonwitness expert opinions and how courts should evaluate cases alleging exposure to asbestos in products not designed to contain asbestos.
November 01, 2023
Judge: Pilot Can’t Opine On Air Traffic Controller Standards In Crash Suit

HONOLULU — A Hawaii federal judge on Oct. 31 granted a motion by the United States to limit the testimony of an expert retained in a wrongful death case, finding that the pilot who was retained to opine on what caused a helicopter to crash does not have the requisite experience as an air traffic controller to offer his opinions.
October 31, 2023
Split 3rd Circuit: No Jurisdiction Over NFL Injury 3rd-Party Payments Dispute

PHILADELPHIA — A trial court’s denial of a lawsuit loan company’s motion to amend rules regarding the payment of claims involving third-party funders after a National Football League concussion injury class settlement was “not a ‘final decision’” that may be reviewed, a divided Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled, dismissing the company’s appeal.
October 27, 2023
Panel Says Son Agreed To Arbitrate Individual Claims In Care Home Negligence Suit

LOS ANGELES — A California appellate court affirmed in part a lower court order denying a nursing home’s motion to compel arbitration in a reckless neglect suit against it regarding the death of a former resident but reversed the denial of a motion to compel arbitration of individual claims filed by a son who signed the arbitration agreement, finding that though the son lacked authority to sign on his father’s behalf, by signing in his individual capacity the son agreed to arbitrate “certain nonrepresentative claims.”
October 25, 2023
Kentucky Appeals Court: Experts In Elder Negligence Care Case Properly Excluded

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Experts retained by a family that sued their mother’s care facility for negligence were unqualified to opine on the standard of care or medical causation, a Kentucky appeals court found, ruling that summary judgment for the facility was appropriate.
October 19, 2023
Asbestos Talc Debtor’s Settlement With Truck Driver OK’d By Bankruptcy Judge

WILMINGTON, Del. — A Delaware federal bankruptcy judge approved an $85,000 settlement that an affiliate co-debtor of talc mining company Cyprus Mines Corp. and talc supplier Imerys Talc America Inc. agreed to pay to a truck driver in Vermont who was injured in a slip-and-fall accident.
October 19, 2023
Expert Testimony OK’d In Suit Against Walmart, But Jury Returns Defense Verdict

RALEIGH, N.C. — A North Carolina federal jury found that a woman did not prove that Walmart acted in a negligent manner, finding for the retailer in a personal injury case alleging injuries resulting from a parking lot crash, a week after the judge ruled that her treating physician could offer expert testimony.
October 17, 2023
Panel: Signing Arbitration Agreement Not Health Care Decision In Care Home Suit

FRANKFORT, Ky. — A Kentucky appellate court affirmed a lower court’s order denying a nursing home’s motion to compel arbitration in a widow’s negligence suit against it, finding that though signing the mandatory arbitration agreement was necessary for treatment at the nursing home and the widow had the authority under Kentucky law to make health care decisions for her husband, her entering into an arbitration agreement on her husband’s behalf was not a health care decision.
October 17, 2023
Defense Verdict Delivered For Knee Implant Maker In Washington Federal Case

SEATTLE — A Washington federal jury returned a defense verdict for DePuy Synthes Sales Inc., rejecting claims that the medical device manufacturer negligently designed its knee replacement device or failed to warn users of associated risks.
October 17, 2023
Counsel In Firefighting Foam Settlement Seek More Than $96M In Fees, Costs

CHARLESTON, S.C. — The class counsel who reached a $1.18 billion settlement related to injury claims stemming from the firefighting agent known as aqueous film forming foam (AFFF), which contains per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), have filed a brief in South Carolina federal court seeking a combined $96,936,213.21 in attorney fees and costs.
October 16, 2023
Supreme Court Grants Certiorari In 2nd Challenge To Chevron Deference

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 13 granted a petition for a writ of certiorari in a second case challenging the doctrine of Chevron deference and ordered that it be briefed on a schedule allowing argument “in tandem” with a pending case pertaining to the same issue, both of which involve challenges to regulations that require fishing vessels to pay federal monitors.