Settlements and Verdicts
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Products Liability
Confidential
$3.7 Million for death of a nine-year-old boy as a result of a fire in an apartment building.
Confidential
$3.3 Million settlement for truck driver who sustained severe electrical burns when his dump trailer contacted uninsulated electric utility lines.
Jane Doe v. Harbor Freight, et al.
$2.225 Million settlement for 11-year-old burn victim. The plaintiff, an 11-year-old girl, sustained second and third degree burns to her thighs and abdomen after her nightgown ignited from a space heater. Products liability claims were filed against defendants, DESA International, Inc., and Harbor Freight, as the manufacturer in interest and distributor of the Glo-Warm space heater, and against Richard Leeds International, Inc., and Wal-Mart, as the designer and distributor of the nightgown. It had been alleged that the heater was defective since the grill guard allowed clothing to pass through and ignite rapidly from the pilot light of the heating tiles. It had been alleged that the cotton nightgown was defective since consumers were not warned that the garment was unsafe for a child, that it was not flame resistant, and that it did not comply with the children's sleepwear regulations. This case was settled prior to trial for $2,225,000 with payments in a structured annuity expected to total an additional $4.7 million over the course of the plaintiff's lifetime.
Confidential
$1.5 Million total settlement in defective smoke alarm that didn't sound, resulting in death of a child in Gloucester County, New Jersey.
DeLeo v. Mighty Equipment Company, et al.
$1.55 Million total recovery for laborer who suffered head injury as a result of defective scaffolding, which caused a crank handle to spin around and strike him in the face and forehead. Plaintiff suffered severe injuries, including a laceration of the forehead, fractured bones of the face and nose, and a fractured skull. These injuries resulted in permanent neurological and cognitive dysfunction, and permanent loss of sense of taste and smell.
Confidential
$1 Million recovery for faulty smoke detectors resulting in the death of a child in Camden County, New Jersey.
West v. Sundance Development
$750,000 jury verdict award to a 50-year-old woman in a single-car rollover resulting in a cervical disc injury.
Herning v. Keller Ladders
$700,000 jury verdict award to a construction worker against the manufacturer of a ladder which broke under his feet. This particular manufacturer had never previously lost a trial in its history.
Rainey v. G.F. Management, et al.
$680,000 total recovery for laborer who suffered a badly fractured ankle while carrying a pipe on a hotel construction site.
John Doe v. US Steel
$650,000 total recovery for steam fitter who suffered burns on his arms while at work at U.S. Steel Fairless Hills Plant.
Bowes v. Suzuki
$600,000 settlement for plaintiff who was ejected from his vehicle after a rollover, causing multiple orthopedic injuries and lacerations of the head.
Confidential
$550,000 settlement in an electric shock accident resulting in permanent nerve damage to arm and hand.
Rutledge v. RJP Builders, Inc, et al.
$475,000 settlement for a carpenter who suffered injuries to his shoulder and back while at work, as a result of a failure to take steps to have proper fall protection at work.
Covello v. Honda
$300,000 settlement for a woman whose airbag and seatbelt failed to deploy after a deer ran in front of her car and caused her to hit a telephone pole. It was later discovered that the Honda Civic was involved in an accident prior to purchase and was not properly repaired. The car had also been recalled back in 1997 for problems with the airbags.
