San Bernardino, CA - A high-stakes products liability trial kicks off with opening statements next week in California state court in a lawsuit filed by a man who suffered severe injuries after firing a nail from a nail gun into his face, and the full trial will be webcast live and recorded gavel-to-gavel by Courtroom View Network.
Plaintiff Justino Montiel claims he sustained major neurological injuries in 2019 while performing framing work using an NR83A nail gun manufactured by Hitachi. He sued the company the following year, alleging the NR83A has design defects, improper warnings, and should have been subject to a recall and retrofit campaign.
Hitachi, sued as Koki Holdings America LTD, maintains the gun’s design is not defective and that Montiel, who they allege never read the gun’s owner’s manual, did not receive proper training from his employer to use it. They also dispute the nature and extent of Montiel’s claimed injuries.
The insurer for Montiel’s employer, Redwood Fire and Casualty Company, will also participate in the trial after successfully filing a motion to intervene. They seek a verdict in favor of Montiel to help recoup the $670,000 in worker’s compensation payments they’ve made since the incident.
Relatively few lawsuits involving allegedly defective nail guns have gone to trial. A similar lawsuit went to trial in 2012 in California resulting in a $2.5 million verdict.
While this pending trial is not an officially designated bellwether it could provide an important roadmap for related claims pending in other courts.
If the caliber of attorneys involved are an indication of the stakes in the case, Hitachi seemingly views this claim as potentially significant. Their trial team is lead by Nelson Mullins partner Mike Hurvitz, who serves as managing partner for the white shoe powerhouse’s San Diego office. He is joined by Frank Hosley, firm chair at Bowman & Brooke LLP, which often represents manufacturers in high-exposure products trials.
Montiel is represented by Brian Beecher, Greg Mohrman and Brandon Marvisi of The Law Offices of Arash Khorsandi PC, based out of Los Angeles.
The trial, expected to take 2-3 weeks to complete, will take place before Judge Joseph B. Widman.
CVN’s live and on-demand gavel-to-gavel coverage will commence with the start of opening statements and continue for the duration of the trial.
The case is captioned Justino Montiel v. Hitachi America LTD., et al., case number CIVSB2028102 in San Bernardino County Superior Court.
Email David Siegel at dsiegel@cvn.com