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

Mealey's Personal Injury

September 23, 2024
Arborists Can Opine For Both Sides On Reasonable Tree Removal Safety, Judge Says

NEW ORLEANS — Dueling arborists can both testify in a case alleging that a tree-cutting company’s employee negligently allowed a tree to fall into traffic, causing injuries to a driver, a Louisiana federal judge ruled.
September 23, 2024
Federal Florida Magistrate Recommends Allowing Doctor To Testify In Injury Suit

MIAMI — A federal magistrate judge in Florida recommended that a motion to exclude testimony from a woman’s treating physician be denied in a personal injury suit filed against Carnival Corp. for an injury sustained on a cruise ship.
September 23, 2024
Removal Of COVID-19 Suit By Senior Home Was Premature Without Amount In Controversy

CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. — In a lawsuit filed by the estate of a woman who died in a senior living facility during the COVID-19 pandemic alleging negligence on the part of the facility, a New York federal judge granted the estate’s motion to remand to state court because the amount in controversy was not stated or otherwise determinable, thereby nullifying diversity jurisdiction.
September 20, 2024
Florida Panel Quashes Protective Order, Says Company Attorney Must Give Deposition

MIAMI — Concluding that the petition of a personal injury plaintiff whose postjudgment discovery inquiries into the status of a cab company that failed to pay a judgment against it were thwarted presents “one of the exceptional circumstances in which certiorari lies to review an order denying discovery,” a Florida appellate panel reversed a trial court’s order quashing a subpoena the man issued to the company’s attorney, seeking to depose him.
September 20, 2024
Settlement Reported In Assault Suit Against Snapchat, Which Claimed CDA Immunity

WATERBURY, Conn. — A Connecticut state court judge stated in an order that a settlement was reported but the case was not withdrawn in a suit filed against Snap Inc., which operates the social media platform Snapchat, by the parents of a minor who was sexually assaulted by two men that she met through the platform, with the social media company claiming immunity from liability for the rapists’ actions under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA).
September 19, 2024
Washington Court Affirms $5.75M Asbestos Verdict Against Volkswagen

SEATTLE — A Washington court had jurisdiction over a German automobile manufacturer based on its import deal with a U.S. subsidiary, there was sufficient evidence linking those two companies to a man’s mesothelioma and a trial judge did not err in instructing the jury on causation, a state appellate court said in an unpublished opinion affirming a $5.75 million asbestos verdict.
September 19, 2024
Split 9th Circuit Panel Rules That Uber Had Duty Of Care Toward Its Murdered Driver

SAN FRANCISCO — A split panel of the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals reversed a grant of summary judgment by a Washington federal court in favor of a rideshare company in a lawsuit by the estate and survivors of one its drivers stemming from the driver’s murder during a carjacking attempt perpetrated by two people who had signed up for the company’s services with false personal information and a prepaid phone and gift card minutes before being matched with the driver.
September 17, 2024
Jury Awards $39M In Talc Pleurodesis Mesothelioma Case

WOBURN, Mass. — A Massachusetts jury awarded $39,081,142 to a couple for a man’s mesothelioma arising from exposure to talc used during a medical procedure, sources told Mealey Publications.
September 17, 2024
Class Suit Over College’s Handling Of Rapes Dismissed With Prejudice

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A federal judge in Michigan dismissed with prejudice a putative class complaint filed by two female college students against their school over the way in which their reports of being raped by other students were handled.
September 16, 2024
Judge Adds Nearly $91M In Damages To Benzene Verdict Against ExxonMobil

PHILADELPHIA — A state court judge in Pennsylvania on Sept. 13 denied ExxonMobil Corp. a new trial and instead added $90,833,561.65 in delay damages to the $725.5 million verdict a jury awarded to a man who was injured from exposure to benzene, bring his total award to $816,333,561.65.
September 12, 2024
Jury Hands Monsanto A Win In Pennsylvania Glyphosate Cancer Trial

PHILADELPHIA — A jury in a Pennsylvania state court on Sept. 12 ruled in favor of Monsanto Co. in a trial for damages brought by a man who contended that he developed cancer from exposure to glyphosate, the active ingredient in the herbicide Roundup.
September 11, 2024
5th Circuit Affirms Win For BP In Deepwater Injury Case; Expert Properly Excluded

NEW ORLEANS — A lower court did not err in excluding a man’s causation expert in a Deepwater Horizon oil spill injury case, the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled, affirming a summary judgment award in favor of BP Exploration & Production Inc. and its affiliates.
September 10, 2024
Plaintiffs Seek $162M In Attorney Fees For Ohio Train Derailment Settlement

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — The plaintiffs in the litigation over the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, which released toxic chemicals into the air and soil have moved in Ohio federal court for $162 million in attorney fees, reimbursement of $18 million in litigation costs incurred by class counsel and service awards of $15,000 to each class representative.
September 10, 2024
Agent Under POA Alleges Negligence Against Care Home Over Pressure Injuries

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — An agent pursuant to a power of attorney (POA) sued a rehabilitation facility, a related entity and the facility owners and operators in a Missouri federal court, asserting that their negligence in failing to adequately staff the facility and provide the appropriate care resulted in a former resident developing pressure injuries, causing “pain, suffering and mental anguish.”
September 09, 2024
Company Urges Dismissal After Arbitration Bid Denied In Care Home Negligence Suit

NORTHERN JACKSON, Miss. — One day after a Mississippi federal judge denied a skilled nursing facility’s motion to compel arbitration in a negligence and medical malpractice suit filed against it and an affiliated limited liability corporation by a former resident through his guardian, the company filed a reply brief urging the judge to dismiss the case against it for lack of personal jurisdiction.
September 09, 2024
TikTok Not Immune From Its Own First-Party Expression In Curating, Promoting Videos

PHILADELPHIA — A panel of the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals reversed in part and vacated in part the judgment of a Pennsylvania trial court dismissing a lawsuit by the mother of a 10-year-old girl who accidentally asphyxiated herself after watching a video encouraging similar behavior curated by an online video service and featured on the girl’s “For You Page,” ruling that the curation and promotion of videos is first-party expressive conduct, not third-party conduct for which the service was immune from liability under the Communications Decency Act (CDA).
September 06, 2024
Testimony From Officer’s Expert On Man’s Injuries Limited In Use Of Force Case

BOISE, Idaho — An expert retained by a police officer who is facing allegations that he violated a man’s constitutional rights during an arrest cannot testify about the cause of his injuries because his conclusions are not based on facts in evidence, an Idaho federal judge ruled.
September 06, 2024
Eyeing Appeal Of $8.8M Asbestos Verdict, Company Defends Appellate Bond

LOS ANGELES — While an appellate bond might not name all the plaintiffs, the size of the bond ensures that all of the plaintiffs’ interests are protected, a company found partly liable for a nearly $9 million in asbestos verdict tells a California court in opposing a motion objecting to the bond amount.
September 04, 2024
Philips Argues For Discovery Consolidation In Related CPAP MDLs

PITTSBURGH — Koninklijke Philips N.V., Philips North America LLC and Philips RS North America LLC (collectively, Philips) asked the judge overseeing two related multidistrict litigations involving the recall of approximately 10.8 million Philips continuous positive air pressure (CPAP) sleep apnea devices and respirators to rule that documents produced in one MDL can be used in the other.
September 04, 2024
Traffic Stop Plaintiffs Appeal Jury Award Adjustments, Grant Of Qualified Immunity

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The estate of a deceased motorist and the motorist’s passenger involved in a traffic stop and chase that culminated in a crash and shooting and who sought damages from an Alabama city and city police officer for wrongful death and excessive force filed a notice of appeal to the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, seeking review of several orders of an Alabama federal court, including the vacatur of a $1.5 million award to the passenger based on qualified immunity granted to the police officer.
September 03, 2024
Minor Injured By E-Cig Battery Explosion Appeals Dismissal To 7th Circuit

CHICAGO — A minor who was injured when lithium-ion batteries intended for use with an e-cigarette device exploded in his pocket filed an amended docketing statement to the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals asserting the grounds for jurisdiction over his appeal of an Indiana federal judge’s ruling dismissing his personal injury claims against a Korean battery maker.
August 27, 2024
Negligence Claim Against Care Home Dismissed; Ohio Resident Rights Claim Survives

TOLEDO, Ohio — A federal judge in Ohio dismissed as time-barred negligence and punitive damages claims against a nursing home operator but found that the administratrix of a former resident’s estate has plausibly alleged that the facility committed negligent acts or omissions, and therefore, breached its duty of care to the resident in violation of his rights under the state’s resident rights statute.
August 27, 2024
Arkansas Federal Judge Rules Firearms Expert Cannot Testify On Misfired Pistol

EL DORADO, Ark. — An expert who opines that it is possible for a firearm to accidentally fire when dropped cannot testify because he failed to base his conclusions on a reliable methodology as required under Federal Rule of Evidence 702, an Arkansas federal judge ruled.
August 23, 2024
City, Officer Appeal $2.75M Jury Verdict For Wrongful Death In Traffic Stop Case

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — An Alabama city and city police officer on Aug. 22 filed a notice of appeal to the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, seeking review of several orders of an Alabama federal court after it entered an amended final judgment on a jury verdict of $2.75 million in punitive damages to the estate of a deceased motorist who sought damages for excessive force and wrongful death in the shooting of the motorist and his passenger after their vehicle crashed.
August 22, 2024
3rd Circuit Affirms Judgment For Insurer, Care Home In Medicare, Civil Rights Suit

PHILADELPHIA — The Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed judgment for an insurer and a skilled nursing facility (SNF) in an estate representative’s suit stemming from the Medicare Advantage plan’s failure to cover continued skilled nursing care and the facility’s failure to document a wound that led to the amputation of the patient’s leg, agreeing with the lower court that the representative failed to exhaust all administrative remedies under Medicare and failed to show that the woman’s wound changed during her stay at the facility.