Product Liability Accidents

Affanato v. Merrill Bros., 547 F.2d 138 (1st Cir. 1977)  Appellate court upheld damages awarded to Sugarman client following a default judgment against the defendant.

Asphyxiation at concrete batching plant  Settlement against parent company which retained responsibility for plant when 39-year-old worker was buried alive and asphyxiated in stone bin.

Asthma attack triggered by chemicals used during construction project  Settlement from construction company that failed to ventilate long-term care facility during renovation and caused asthma attack in nurse.

Carey v. General Motors Corp., 37 Mass. 736 (1979)  The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court rejected General Motors’ appeal from a jury verdict awarding damages to two occupants injured by the faulty design of a car in which they were riding. Sugarman lawyers successfully argued that there were three defects in the car, any one of which was sufficient to cause the crash.

Colter v. Barber-Greene Co., 403 Mass. 50 (1988)  A jury verdict in favor of a worker injured by a defective machine was affirmed on appeal to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court even though the jury also found that the worker’s use of the machine was unreasonable where the manufacturer of the machine was negligent in its design.

Construction accident - defective formwork  Product liability settlement against distributor of TAR Waller and general contractor for injuries to carpenter foreman who fell when loop on wall formwork broke causing fall.

Constructon site  Slab of concrete fell from ceiling of a building under construction causing serious injury to plaintiff. The contractor, mechanical engineer, and architect denied responsibility for locating and securing the slab. By starting with the original building plans from the 1900s and working forward to the current renovations, were able to show the responsibility of each. Settlement from all defendants.

Defective aerial lift control design  Settlement for an electrical apprentice working on the big dig. Worker suffered an abdominal crush injury and an esophageal tear because of a malfunction with the bucket controls.

Defective aerial lift design  Settlement for the child's family when young boy suffered severe brain damage that left him paralyzed, unable to speak or care for himself when an aerial lift truck he was riding in tipped over because of a defect in its design.

Defective apartment window screen  Settlement from manufacturer, seller and landlord. Toddler fell out of a third-floor apartment window due to dangerous design, installation, and maintenance of the window screen, resulting in severe brain and orthopedic injuries to the child.