$5.85 Million Verdict for Family of Worker Killed by Defective Machine

Samuel Dordick and Max Dehon secured a $5.85 million jury verdict for the family of a worker who was fatally injured while cleaning a plastic film winding machine at a Pennsylvania manufacturing facility.

The case centered on the machine’s defective design and whether the company that acquired its original manufacturer could be held responsible. Evidence showed that a sensor failure caused the machine’s arms to move unexpectedly. The machine lacked safeguards that could have prevented the fatal incident.

The attorneys also presented evidence that the successor company had acquired manufacturing assets and continued essentially the same manufacturing operations. A Luzerne County jury found that the company could be held liable under Pennsylvania’s product-line exception and that the defective machine caused the worker’s injuries