Product Liability Case Results

C.M. v. Ford Motor Co.
$27,000,000.00 jury verdict in an auto defect case for the estate of a 46-year-old man who died because the driver’s seat of his vehicle failed in a rear impact motor vehicle accident, causing him to suffer fatal head injuries. The jury’s award included $25,000,000 for loss of society suffered by his wife and two children, an Illinois record.

L.C. v. Ford Motor Co. – $14,500,000.00 verdict in an auto defect case for a woman who became paraplegic when her 1991 Ford Explorer was rear ended. Her driver’s seat broke, and she was catapulted into the rear of the vehicle. The verdict was rendered against Ford Motor Company and the uninsured driver of the other vehicle. The verdict was affirmed on appeal, and the judgment plus interest was paid in full.

D.S. v. MiTek Industries, Inc. v. C.I.T. Industries, Inc.
$13,544,172.00 jury verdict in the Circuit Court of Tazewell County, Illinois for a product liability case involving a 19-year-old young man who suffered an above-knee amputation of his left leg due to a defectively designed and manufactured Roof Glider machine. Read more

R.B. v. Garage Door Manufacturer – $9,000,000.00 settlement to the family of a four-year-old boy who suffered brain injuries after being trapped under a garage door. The “contact safety reverse system that was supplied with the garage door operator failed to reverse the door, and the boy was asphyxiated for 5 or more minutes before his mother found him.

O.R. v. Dri-Tec Manufacturing, Inc. – $8,104,001.35 judgment against Dri-Tec Manufacturing, Inc. for a 24-year-old machine operator who died of compartment syndrome when his arm was crushed between two rollers of a 1990 coating and laminating machine that was designed without proper safety guards for operators. He was survived by his wife and 2-year-old son. Though the defendant company was sold and later dissolved, the case continues against the former owner for fraudulent conveyance and to pierce the corporate veil to hold the owner personally liable for the judgment.

K.B. v. Weyerhaeuser Canada Ltd. – Settled claims on behalf of 33 year-old incomplete quadriplegic for $6,175,000.00. Our client was injured when a plank on a scaffold snapped, causing him to fall 20 feet to a cement balcony. Weyerhaeuser Canada negligently graded the board, and Edward Hines Lumber Company negligently sold it to the plaintiff’s employer for use as a scaffold plank.

R.S. v. United Engineering Co. – $4,650,000.00 settlement to the family of a 38-year-old husband and father of two who suffered third degree burns and later died as the result of an explosion at a steel making furnace in Peoria, Illinois. The defendant designed and manufactured water cooled panels used in the roof of the furnace which leaked, causing the explosion.

Unnamed Plaintiff v. Unnamed Automaker and Dealer – $3,650,000.00 settlement in an auto product defect case. Our 57-year-old client fell asleep at the wheel of his convertible coupe, lost control and rolled over while driving on I-94 in SW Michigan. During the course of the rollover, the A-pillar on the driver’s side deformed downward, exposing the plaintiff’s spine to severe flexion. This caused incomplete quadriplegia. We sued the automaker and dealer for failing to incorporate pop-up or fixed roll-bar technology on the convertible that would have made the injury less likely.

J.S. v. Kayak Pool Corporation, Kayak Pools Midwest, Latham International, Inc., and homeowners – $2,000,000.00 settlement with for 12-year-old girl who dove into an above ground pool and fractured her cervical spine.

S.B. v. YCM. – $1,520,000.00 plus waiver of $260,000.00 worker’s compensation lien for a 22-year-old who lost his non-dominant arm below the elbow in a work mishap. In an attempt to determine the cause of imperfect drilling by the machine, he slipped into the spinning drill. The defendant’s machine did not have an automatic shut-off when the doors were open and did not have adequate safety guards to protect workers from the spinning drill.

Tylenol Poisoning Cases – Acted as co-lead counsel for the seven wrongful death cases pending against McNeil Consumer Product Co. These cases settled for a confidential amount in May 1991. An individual poisoned several bottles of Tylenol, which was not apparent to consumers who subsequently purchased the medicine because the bottles were not tamper-resistant or tamper-evident. In claims against the manufacturer, it was shown that the company was aware the product was subject to tampering but took no action to produce a safe product.

L.S. v. General Motors Corp. – Confidential settlement in an auto defect case to the surviving adult children of a woman who died in a rollover collision. Claimed auto defects were in the door mounted seat belt system, and the automatic door locking system of the Pontiac Grand Am.

J.T. v. Seat Belt Manufacturer – Confidential settlement in an auto defect case on behalf of young man who was paralyzed when his seat belt inertially unlatched during a collision and he was ejected from his seat.

E.M. v. Confidential Auto Manufacturer – Confidential settlement in an auto defect case on behalf of a young woman who was paralyzed when she was ejected from a vehicle when the door latch and lock system failed and the door opened during the crash.