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CVN has covered a wide range of trials from coast to coast over the last few months: from a California med mal, birth injury claim to a Florida ovarian cancer, talc case involving Johnson & Johnson. Watch a few key moments from these headline-making trials.
Texas Jurors Award Nearly $72M in Trial Over Fatal Fall From Scissor Lift
In April, a jury in Texas awarded $71.95 million to the widow of an electrician who died when the scissor lift on which he was working collapsed in a collision with a boom lift. Jurors apportioned 65 percent of responsibility to defendant Walker Engineering and 35% to Walker Industrial, which, under Texas law, rendered Walker Engineering liable for the full amount. Walker Engineering claimed the boom lift’s operator was an employee of a separate legal entity, Walker Industrial, and that the electrician bore responsibility for the collision. However, in her closing, Aldous \ Walker’s Charla Aldous argued Walker Engineering was the one truly to blame.
“When [the boom lift operator] made a mistake operating that boom lift… Walker Engineering owns that mistake.”
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J&J Prevails in Florida Ovarian Cancer, Talc Trial
Following a three-week trial, a Florida state court jury cleared Johnson & Johnson of liability for the ovarian cancer death of a woman who had used the company’s Baby Powder for decades. The woman’s family claims that talc in the product was contaminated with asbestos and that J&J failed to warn consumers about the risks of cancer when using talc. But, in his opening, King & Spalding’s Morton Dubin, representing J&J, told jurors there is no link between talc and cancer, and he pushed back on claims the company concealed any dangers of talc.
“The idea that this is something that has been kept under wraps as some sort of conspiracy — and they actually are alleging conspiracy — is just not true.”
$28M Verdict Caps Georgia Trial Over Deadly Car Crash
Jurors handed down a $28 million verdict at trial over the head-on crash that killed a 54-year-old Georgia man. During his closing argument of the three-day damages trial, Butler | Kahn’s Jeb Butler detailed the man’s loss.
“[He] deserved better than what he got. [He] should have died 25.1 years from [the crash date], in a soft bed, surrounded by people who loved him and whom he loved. Not on the side of the road, in a ditch, alone, in his car, with blunt trauma to his chest.”
California Jury Clears Hospital in Trial Over Baby’s Brain Injury
A California hospital prevailed at trial over claims it was responsible for the severe brain injury a child born at the facility suffered. The child’s family claims that delays in performing a cesarean section led to the brain damage. However, in his opening, West & Rosa’s Stephen Rosa highlighted evidence he said showed the baby’s brain was receiving enough oxygen during labor.
“Tachycardia, again, is: the heart rate is high. You know the brain is being perfused with oxygen through the blood coming from the placenta…. As long as there’s tachycardia, you know the baby’s getting oxygenated blood and there’s no injury.
Email Arlin Crisco at acrisco@cvn.com.