5/13/2009 - John Dodson and Tanya Dugas Win Summary Judgment in Wrongful Death Case
John Dodson and Tanya Dugas won summary judgment in a wrongful death / products liability action filed in Walker County, Alabama. While attempting to dislodge coal from a chute, a coal miner fell onto a moving conveyor belt which carried him out of the mine resulting in his death. The decedent’s family sued the designer of the conveyor belt system as well as manufacturers of several component parts. John Dodson and Tanya Dugas represented Benshaw Corporation, a manufacturer of starters used in conveyor belt systems. The plaintiff was trained to turn off power to the conveyor belt system prior to climbing onto the belt to dislodge coal; however, the evidence showed the plaintiff did not turn off the main power supply but instead used the remote switches to deactivate the conveyor belt. There was dispute as to whether the remote switches may have malfunctioned causing the belt to restart unexpectedly. The Court granted summary judgment in favor of Benshaw based upon the plaintiff’s inability to establish a causal connection between a Benshaw starter and the reactivation of the conveyor belt. For more information about this case or Alabama Products Liability Claims, please contact Mr. Dodson, Ms. Dugas or the lawyers in our Products Liability Litigation Group.
For more information about this case or Alabama Products Liability claims, please