Products Liability | Virginia Lawyers Weekly

Experts Can Show Infant Earning Capacity

By Deborah Elkins
Published: October 20, 2011
Tags: Judge James P. Jones, Products Liability, U.S. District Court - Western District

In a products liability suit against a child-safety seat manufacturer, a vocational rehabilitation expert and an economist can use academic and medical reports and family history to testify as to the individualized earning capacity of a five-year-old girl who occupied the safety seat and who suffered brain injury in an auto accident.
During his assessment, vocational [...]

Stone in bowl of soup caused two cracked – $50,000 Settlement

By Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Published: October 3, 2011
Tags: Personal Injury, Products Liability

The plaintiff, the wife of a dentist, was having lunch with her book club in a Richmond-area restaurant. She bit down on a mouthful of soup and cracked two teeth on a small stone in the soup. Plaintiff contended that Virginia’s implied warranty of food purity imposed strict liability when a restaurant serves food with [...]

No Virginia Jurisdiction Over Japanese Company

By Deborah Elkins
Published: September 27, 2011
Tags: Judge Charles N. Dorsey, Products Liability, Roanoke Circuit Court, Virginia Circuit Courts

A woman who alleges she was injured while operating a saddle stitching machine that a Roanoke company obtained from a Japanese manufacturer through its North American distributor cannot sue the Japanese company in Roanoke City Circuit Court; the manufacturer had no physical locations in the U.S., did not specifically target Virginia, attended no trade shows [...]

Fitness Warranty Claim for Shower Chair User

By Deborah Elkins
Published: July 28, 2011
Tags: Judge Raymond A. Jackson, Products Liability, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

A man who is disabled from multiple sclerosis and who alleges injuries from use of defendant’s folding shower chair has stated a claim for breach of an implied warranty of fitness for a particular purpose under Va. Code § 8.2-315, says a Newport News U.S. District Court.
This products liability action arises out of plaintiff’s use [...]

Asbestos Claim Against Shipyard Dismissed

By Deborah Elkins
Published: July 15, 2011
Tags: Judge Timothy S. Fisher, Newport News Circuit Court, Products Liability, Virginia Circuit Courts

In this suit by the estate of a man who allegedly died from mesothelioma contracted from asbestos exposure after he worked on construction of the U.S. Navy submarine Lewis & Clark in 1965, a Newport News Circuit Court dismisses plaintiff’s claim against defendant shipyard.
I am unaware of this issue being raised in the asbestos litigation [...]

Court Lets Segway Suit Roll On

By Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Published: June 7, 2011
Tags: Judge Melvin R. Hughes Jr., Products Liability, Richmond Circuit Court, Virginia Circuit Courts

A woman who alleges injury while using a Segway Personal Transport provided by defendant tour company may pursue her products liability claim against the tour company and the defendant manufacturer, but the Richmond Circuit Court dismisses her additional warranty, fraud and punitive damage claims.
Plaintiff sues the tour company, Dreambots, and the manufacturer, Segway Inc. The [...]

$212M awarded in Botox case

By Alan Cooper
Published: May 5, 2011
Tags: Federal Courts, Judge Robert E. Payne, Million-Dollar Verdicts, Products Liability

A Vietnam veteran who received a series of Botox injections to treat his writer’s tremor won a $212 million jury verdict against Botox manufacturer Allergan Inc. last month in Richmond federal court.
Best known for its cosmetic use to smooth the faces of actors and socialites, Botox also can relieve symptoms of muscle tension and spasticity. [...]

Farm Equipment Seller Sues for Negligence

By Deborah Elkins
Published: January 25, 2011
Tags: Judge Ivan D. Davis, Products Liability, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Where a farm equipment company and a tractor company had to pay a jury award of $165,000 to a man who was injured due to an allegedly defective hay bale spear, the farm equipment company may sue Southern Farm Supply for negligence and breach of implied warranty, if the Alexandria U.S. District Court accepts the [...]

Farmer’s Experts Could Not Testify On Mower Hose

By Deborah Elkins
Published: January 19, 2011
Tags: Justice Donald W. Lemons, Products Liability, Supreme Court of Virginia

A $1.75 million verdict for a 72-year-old farmer who alleged severe injuries when his disc mower exploded and injected burning hydraulic fluid into his hand, is reversed by the Supreme Court of Virginia because the trial court erred in admitting opinion testimony from plaintiff’s two experts on an alleged defect in a hose and on [...]

Sprinkler Heads Are ‘Equipment’ Under Statute of Repose

By Deborah Elkins
Published: January 19, 2011
Tags: Justice LeRoy F. Millette Jr., Products Liability, Supreme Court of Virginia

In a case involving fire on an apartment building’s exterior balcony, the Supreme Court of Virginia concludes that exterior sidewall sprinkler heads are “equipment” under Virginia’s statute of repose, Va. Code § 8.01-250, and reverses the circuit court judgment holding that the sprinkler heads are ordinary building materials; the court also holds that a manufacturer’s [...]

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