Once upon a time, asbestos was practically everywhere. Because the material causes devastating forms of cancer and lung disease, huge product-liability litigation sprung up. That led to huge settlements, which led to the establishment of huge trusts, created to assure payment to millions of current and future claimants. Some $20…
The worsening impact of head injuries on football was underscored when it was revealed that La Salle University had agreed to pay $7.5 million to a severely brain-damaged player, an amount five times the school’s annual athletic budget. Preston Plevretes, a sophomore linebacker, was severely injured in a Nov. 5,…
The Supreme Court has left in place an $82.6 million award to a woman who was paralyzed after her Ford Explorer rolled over. The justices rejected Ford Motor Co.’s challenge to the portion of the award, $55 million, that was intended as punitive damages. Ford argued that it should not…
A jury has awarded $89 million in damages to the family of a man killed in a 2008 crash with a drunken driver, and to the man’s fiancée and daughter. “The eye-popping numbers were the jury’s attempt to send a message the only way they could,” said attorney Mark Bronson,…
A radiation oncologist who formerly worked for the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute won a $3 million verdict in federal court on charges that her employer retaliated against her for raising concerns about discrimination. The jury recommended that Dr. Kristina Gerszten be awarded $1.5 million in back pay from the…
The state Supreme Court reinstated an $8 million default judgment against Hyundai Motor Co. in a lawsuit over the backward collapse of a front seat in a 1997 crash that left a man paralyzed. In a 7-2 ruling, the high court reversed the Court of Appeals, which had overturned a…
The head of the Consumer Product Safety Commission conceded that the agency “hasn’t been acting as quickly as it should” on crib safety problems. More than 2.1 million drop-side cribs by Stork Craft Manufacturing of Canada are being recalled following reports of four infant suffocations. The CPSC said the recall…
A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit alleging that Merck osteoporosis drug Fosamax causes jaw damage, more than two months after a jury deadlocked in a case involving a similar claim. U.S. District Judge John Keenan found that Bessie Flemings, 74, a Mississippi resident, failed to present enough evidence to…
The Kentucky Court of Appeals upheld the $6.1 million jury award to strip-search victim Louise Ogborn, saying McDonald’s legal department was “fully aware” of hoax calls to its restaurants, yet its management made “a conscious decision not to train or warn employees or managers about the calls.” In a unanimous…
A Phillipsburg man was awarded nearly $6 million for injuries suffered when a large tree limb dropped onto their car in 2006. Kenneth Matlock is permanently disabled and can no longer work as a truck driver, his career for more than 20 years. On July 4, 2006 Matlock, his wife…