$24 Million Settlement Against an International, US-Based Industrial Equipment Manufacturer
Saltz Mongeluzzi Bendesky attorneys Larry Bendesky, Robert Zimmerman, and Scott Fellmeth have secured a $24 million settlement against an international, U.S.-based industrial equipment manufacturer after four days of trial in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania. SMB’s trial team represented a union equipment operator who was rendered quadriplegic in 2015 following a workplace accident in a warehouse along the Delaware River in Philadelphia.
The injured worker and his wife filed a product liability lawsuit against the manufacturer of the equipment being operated at the time of the accident. They alleged that the equipment’s occupant restraint system was defectively designed and caused the operator’s catastrophic injuries which would have been prevented with an alternative design. SMB engaged biomechanical and mechanical engineering experts along with an accident reconstructionist and equipment operations expert. In addition, six medical, vocational, and economic experts were retained and issued reports concerning the injuries and damages sustained by the injured worker.
SMB’s trial team prepared and responded to nearly 40 Motions in Limine in the days leading up to trial. These motions were argued before opening statements and allowed the Trial Judge to determine the evidence that would be admissible during the trial. Many of the pre-trial motions focused on issues concerning Pennsylvania’s product liability law in the wake of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s 2014 decision in Tincher v. Omega Flex.
We were honored to represent our clients in this lawsuit against a multi-national product manufacturer. The defendant could have, and should have, designed its product in a way which would have kept operators like our client safe.
Larry Bendesky
“This settlement allowed us to secure a life-changing financial settlement for our clients. It is our expectation that the Defendant will remember this case and this settlement in its reevaluation of its occupant restraint system,” Robert Zimmerman added.