4/23/2009 - John Dodson and Steve Colclough win summary judgment in product liability action based on lack of causal relation defense
John Dodson and Steve Colclough recently won summary judgment in a Tuscaloosa County case in which the plaintiff suffered severe foot injuries which eventually led to a below-the-knee amputation of the plaintiff's leg. The plaintiff was working in a manufacturing facility and was driving a stand-up forklift down the main aisle when a forklift operated by one of his co-workers entered the main aisle from a side aisle and collided with the plaintiff's forklift. One of the fork tines from the co-worker's forklift penetrated the operator's compartment and punctured the plaintiff's foot. A series of infections ultimately spread to the plaintiff's leg, which was amputated below the knee.
The plaintiff sued the forklift
manufacturer, the company which originally designed the forklift, the owner of
the manufacturing facility, and Barloworld Handling. The plaintiff's
primary theory was that the forklift should have been equipped with a rear
operator's compartment door, which the plaintiff contended would have prevented
his injury. John Dodson and Steve Colclough represented Barloworld
Handling, the company which received the forklift from the manufacturer
and delivered it to the manufacturing facility. Although Barloworld
Handling often sells and leases forklifts of this type, in this case the
manufacturing facility ordered the forklift directly from the manufacturer and
chose to order the forklift without the optional rear operator's compartment
door. In ruling on the motion for summary judgment, Judge Scott Donaldson
determined Barloworld Handling was entitled to the benefit of the lack of
causal relation defense, in which a product distributor whose actions do not
contribute to the defective condition of a product and who has no opportunity
superior to the purchaser to inspect the product is insulated from liability
because the distributor's activities with respect to the product are not
causally related to its defective condition. For more information about this case or Alabama Products Liability claims, please contact Mr. Dodson, Mr. Colclough, or the lawyers in our Products Liability Litigation Group.
