Topics: Products Liability - 346 results

Big tobacco companies are exposed to billions of dollars in damages in Florida smokers’ lawsuits now that the they’ve lost their attempt to overturn multi-million dollar verdicts when the U.S. Supreme Court decided not to hear their appeal. The high court let stand four verdicts in favor of smokers, totaling over $53 million, including a $28.3 million award to Mathilde Martin for the death of her husband, Benny, from lung cancer after a lifetime of smoking Camels and Lucky Strikes. …

Murder conviction reversed because jurors slept and tweeted. The Arkansas Supreme Court overturned the death penalty conviction of Erickson Dimas-Martinez because of juror misconduct. The Court decided Dimas-Martinez didn’t get a fair murder trial because one juror kept falling asleep and another juror kept posting Twitter messages during the proceedings. Dimas-Martinez was convicted of murdering 17-year-old Derrick Jefferson in 2006. During his trial, a juror fell asleep for as long as five minutes during the technical discussion of some scientific …

Defective Chinese drywall has plagued the American homeowner since it was first used in new home construction in the last decade. In November, the Associated Press reported a proposed partial settlement involving the remediation of up to 1,500 homes contaminated by defective Chinese drywall. The settlement reimburses builders who’ve repaired affected homes and funds the scheduled repair of others. Reading this, you might think the enormous problem of Chinese drywall was a thing of the past, or at least coming to …

A New York state appeals court last week affirmed what’s thought to be the largest personal injury award ever granted in western New York. It entered a $45 million verdict in a personal injury case against the exercise equipment maker, Cybex. Even so, this reflects a $21 million reduction in the total damages the jury gave the victim at trial. Trimmed by $21 million on appeal, still believed a record in upstate New York Physical therapist left a quadriplegic by …

On Monday November 21, the Lawyers.com Blog will publish an expose that affects every consumer: How Your Elected Legislators Have Chiseled Away Your Legal Rights. Visit www.lawyers.com/our-blog on Monday to read the first of a three-part series. Over recent years, your legal right to file a medical malpractice or defective drug lawsuit has been severely curtailed. To protect themselves from costly lawsuits, corporations and trade associations have funneled hundreds of millions of dollars to politicians, to pass what is known …