Recent Successes

We recently successfully tried a products liability case on behalf of a Midwest-based recreational boat manufacturer in federal court in Detroit, Michigan.  The case was tried under federal maritime jurisdiction before a jury.

Plaintiff, an eighteen year old male, was a first-time passenger on his uncles' powerboat when he claimed he fell overboard while boating on Lake St. Clair, Michigan.  Plaintiff suffered a C5 sagittal split fracture, C6 compression burst fracture with retropulsion, and C7 laminar fracture, resulting in permanent C6 quadriplegia/tetraplegia.  Plaintiff asked the jury for $30.8 million in damages.  Plaintiff contended he fell overboard from the helm seat while assisting an uncle in accessing the bow, falling into shallow water and striking the lake bottom head-first.  Plaintiff claimed that the boat was defectively designed and that our client negligently failed to warn of the dangers of falling overboard, in that the boat did not contain molded-in steps at the helm  bulkhead.  We contended that the boat was state-of-the-art, complied with all regulations and standards, was not dangerous in any way, and that no warnings were necessary.  We also presented evidence from Plaintiff's treating neurosurgeon and physiatrist, as well as a  biomechanical engineer, that Plaintiff's injuries were caused by a head-first dive into shallow water and not an inadvertant fall.  We presented evidence that, having built over 36,000 boats, our client had never once received a complaint about its bow access.   

The jury returned a verdict of Not Guilty in our favor on all counts, after less than two hours of deliberation.  

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We successfully defended a steel erection subcontractor in a four-week jury trial in which the plaintiff sought to recover $9.5 million in damages. Plaintiff, a twenty-two year old ironworker, fell off the second floor while working resulting in alleged physical and mental injuries.  Through aggressive fact discovery, we were able to develop two separate defenses to liability that resulted in a jury verdict of Not Guilty.

 

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