Product Liability

Subscribe to Product Liability via RSS

The Tennessee Supreme Court is now considering whether to dismiss a case against an employer brought by its employee’s daughter concerning her alleged secondhand exposure to asbestos.  Plaintiff Amanda Satterfield succumbed to mesothelioma at the age of 25. …
Read More Secondhand Asbestos Exposure Lawsuit Makes Its Way to Tennessee Supreme Court

The case of John Reilly v National Insurance & Guarantee Corporation Limited [2008] EWHC 722 (Comm) considered whether the failure of a fire extinguishing system was covered under the insured’s public and product liability policy. 

…
Read More English Commercial Court gives guidance on the meaning of “machinery” in a public and product liability policy

The United States Senate recently passed S. 2663, the Consumer Products Safety Commission Reform Act (“CPSC Reform Act”), which aims to provide increased protection for children’s products,  improved screening of noncompliant consumer products and more effective consumer product recall programs. 

…
Read More U.S. Senate Passes Bill that Boosts Regulatory Might of the Consumer Products Safety Commission

Jeanne Kohler (New York) and Antony Woodhouse (London) of Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge are attending the Brokers and Reinsurance Markets Association Committee Rendezvous in Naples, Florida to deliver presentations on US and UK legal developments, respectively. …
Read More Report from Brokers and Reinsurance Markets Association Committee Rendezvous in Naples, Florida

Last week, the Supreme Court upheld a Second Circuit decision finding that the Food and Drug Administration’s extensive pre-market approval process for Class III medical devices preempts state law causes of action for injuries allegedly caused by those devices. …
Read More Update: Supreme Court Rules That FDA Pre-Market Approval Preempts State Law Torts

In the case of Kylie Palmer v Estate of Kevin Palmer (deceased) and others [2008] EWCA Civ 46, the Court of Appeal has refused to overturn a decision forcing Royal Sun Alliance (RSA) to pay the opposing parties’ costs personally. The claim arose after a six year old girl was severely injured in an automobile accident. 

…
Read More The English Court of Appeal has Forced an Insurer to Pay the Opposing Parties’ Costs Personally

On Tuesday, December 4, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Riegel v. Medtronic, Inc.  The case is an appeal of the Second Circuit’s decision finding that the Food and Drug Administration’s extensive pre-market approval process for Class III medical devices pre-empts state law causes of action for injuries allegedly caused by those devices.  The Circuit Courts are currently split on the question. 

…
Read More Update: Supreme Court Hears Arguments in FDA Preemption Case

An Illinois judge recently struck down the two-year-old state law that capped medical malpractice awards, ruling that the law violates the Illinois constitution’s “separation of powers” clause by depriving judges and juries of their right to determine fair compensation. …
Read More Illinois Medical Malpractice Cap Ruled Unconstitutional