V & M Star Steel sued Centimark Corporation, claiming that it suffered more than three million dollars in property damage when roofing contractors negligently left bundled steel on V & M's roof during repairs. The Plaintiff argued that when roofers encountered a rain storm, they left supplies in a haphazard and unsafe condition, and bundled steel slid down the roof, destroying structures on the ground below.
Continue reading "Federal Court rejects claim that expert testimony is too speculative" »
Brian Little was employed by a sub-contractor working inside a building on the campus of Macomb Community College. He and a co-worker were making several trips inside the building, carrying equipment used in the renovation, when he fractured an ankle in a fall on ice. He made a claim against the general contractor and the College, arguing that they were responsible for eliminating hazards on the sidewalk.
Continue reading "Workman injured on Community College sidewalk cannot pursue claim" »
Deborah Adamczyk suffered a severe head injury when she fell from a ladder provided by K-Mart to employees of Adamczyk's employer, Footstar Corporation. Adamczyk sued K-Mart, alleging that the ladder was defective because the rubber footings under three of its legs were missing. She relied on a previous employee's testimony to confirm that the ladder had been in a defective condition for several years and that K-Mart was aware of the hazard it represented.
Continue reading "Woman loses claim arising out of fall from ladder" »
George Frommert fell twenty feet from a defective scaffold after stepping from a bucket truck to the scaffold to gather construction debris. The scaffold had been moved to its current location by a sub-contractor, Teera Construction Company, and left in an unstable condition without warnings. Frommert sued Teera for common law negligence. The trial court and two judges of the Court of Appeals agreed that Teera was entitled to summary disposition, relying on a mistaken interpretation of the Fultz "contractual immunity" holding by the Engler Majority of Michigan's Supreme Court. Frommert appealed to the Michigan Supreme Court.
Continue reading "Court of Appeals sends worker's fall claim back to Oakland County for trial" »
Nurse Laura Wulff sued the Otis Elevator Company after falling while exiting an elevator at Henry Ford's Maplegrove Medical Center. Otis had been called in on January 28, 2009 to service an elevator that was not levelling with the floor. The repairman claimed the elevator was in good order when he left. The next day, Wulff encountered a six-inch gap while walking out of the elevator, tripped and suffered injuries. She sued Otis for negligence.
Continue reading "Court dismisses nurse's claim against elevator service company" »
Robert Avery worked as a laborer and welder for Grand Trunk Western Railroad for 28 years before he died as a result of a brain tumor. Under the Federal Employer's Liability Act (FELA) governing railroad employees, Avery could hold the employer responsible for injuries suffered at work, even if proof of the "proximate cause" of the injury and damage did not rise to the normal legal threshold. Avery's widow argued that he suffered the brain tumor and died as a result of various chemical exposures he suffered at work. The Railroad denied any basis for proving causation, refused to provide discovery to the widow and ultimately persuaded the trial judge to dismiss the widow's claim.
Continue reading "Judge improperly dismisses injury case for lack of scientific evidence" »
Marcy, Patricia and Christopher Hill sued Sears, Roebuck and others alleging negligence. They had purchased a new home and bought a new, electric dryer from Sears. They did not realize, however, that the previous owners of the home had removed a GAS dryer and failed to disconnect or "cap" the gas line. The Sears installer brought in the electric dryer, did not address the uncapped gas line and in fact located the new dryer in a manner that obscured the uncapped line.
Continue reading "Sears may have to pay for its "independent" installer's negligence" »
Two judges of the Court of Appeals formulated an opinion this month in Price v. City of Royal Oak that anticipated the Michigan Supreme Court's retreat from an activist interpretation of "contract immunity." Just last week six Justices of the Supreme Court agreed that simply signing a contract does not confer immunity on the contracting parties from a common law duty of reasonable care to third-parties. The Court of Appeals majority in Price apparently anticipated this development when they overturned summary disposition for a sidewalk construction contractor.
Continue reading "Court of Appeals anticipated Supreme Court's retreat on "contract immunity."" »
Manual Martinez-Alvarado was injured while roofing a project run by J.D. Pollard, Inc., as the General Contractor. Pollard had hired a series of sub-contractor roofers who did not carry workers compensation coverage; as a result, as the "principal" of an uninsured injured worker, it was obligated to substitute in for the employer to pay Martinez-Alvarado's workers compensation benefits. In the workers compensation claims process, the worker and Pollard stipulated that Pollard had become Martinez-Alvarado's statutory "employer."
Continue reading "Injured employee cannot sue general contractor who pays comp benefits for uninsured subcontractor-employer" »
Michael Sanderson was badly hurt when his scaffolding collapsed after one leg of the scaffolding fell into a hole in the concrete floor of his job site. Skyline Concrete Floors, a sub of Cahill Construction, had paved the floor, preserving numerous holes intended to be utilized as drains. The Defendant had covered these holes with plywood, which Sanderson claimed was an inadequate protection for workers in the common area who would be working on scaffolding. The trial court dismissed Sanderson's claim, holding that Skyline owed no duty to Sanderson and other workers on the site.
Continue reading "Carpenter can sue contractor who left unguarded holes in concrete at worksite" »
Wayne Lockard was an independent contractor using a scaffold to maintain ceiling lights in Defendant Siegfried's building, when the scaffold collapsed and he was badly hurt. The scaffold collapsed because one of the spring-loaded holding pins in a scaffolding leg was not anchored in the corresponding hole, apparently. The owner of the building had rented the scaffolding for Lockard and others to use in refurbishing and maintaining Siegfried's property. Lockard believed that the owner should be liable for the injury because it was his duty to provide a safe scaffolding for Lockard to use.
Continue reading "Contractor who moved and erected scaffold cannot sue owner" »
Linda Sue Wolford was badly hurt in a car accident, when a dish TV installer's service truck crossed the centerline at high speed and struck her vehicle. The installer, Phillip Pikarski, had just completed one installation, and was dropping the paperwork off at the TV-service retailer's headquarters between installations when the accident occurred. Wolford's attorneys sued Pikarski and the retailer, however, the Circuit Court judge dismissed her claims against the retailer, Thumb Home Real Video, LLC.
Continue reading "Satellite TV installer may be "agent" of DISH provider" »
Frank DeBeul, a plumber, sued the Barton Malow Company after he was injured after tripping over rebar at a Southfield School system job site. He claimed his trip injury was caused by Barton Malow's failure to maintain safety in a common work area. Barton Malow argued that its only duties arise by contract with the school system and that it owed no separate common law safety duty to the Plaintiff. The trial court agreed and dismissed DeBeul's claim.
Continue reading "Plumber's employee can sue "contract manager" for breach of common work area doctrine" »
Thomas and Robert Robarge sued the Tecumseh Products Company, alleging that Tecumseh's manufacturing activities had diminished the use, enjoyment and market value of their property by reason of a spreading plume of groundwater contamination. The lower court dismissed their case after the Defendant raised an "Engler Majority" holding that the Defendants argued should apply to the Robarge claim.
Continue reading "Lenawee County groundwater contamination case is reinstated" »
Christopher Tucker was a legally blind resident at Mavalena Assisted Care, LLC when he was hurt in 2005. He was being guided out of the home by a care worker walking behind him, when he tripped and fell over a tool box left in front of the exit by Richard Carson. Mr. Carson was on the property as a subcontractor for Vincent Pipitone, d/b/a Pro Built Construction. Carson was placing vinyl siding on the structure when he left the tool box in front of the doorway.
Continue reading "Blind assisted living resident can sue one of two contractors who caused his fall" »
Joseph Burlingame was paralyzed when Jason Brown accidentally dropped the boom of a rented rough terrain forklift on him drring operation. Burlingame sued Brown for negligence, and sued Brown's mother, who rented the forklift, as well as the forklift rental owner, NationsRent, Inc. He obtained a default judgment against Jason, who was apparently uninsured, and pursued independent actions against Mrs. Brown and NationsRent.
Continue reading "Victim cannot sue equipment rental agency for negligent entrustment" »
James Schmeling, an EMT, was badly hurt when his co-worker drove an ambulance into the path of a Waste Management truck that had the right of way. Schmeling sued Waste Management and its driver, claiming that the driver was exceeding the speed limit and contributed to the collision. The lower court held that since Schmeling's "exclusive remedy" against his employer and co-worker was worker's compensation, Waste Management could not assign "fault" to these third-parties to reduce any verdict against it. The Court of Appeals overturned this decision, holding that regardless of whether Schmeling had a "remedy" against the co-worker and employer, their fault would still reduce his potential recovery.
Continue reading "Court of Appeals overturns lower court rulings involving ambulance wreck" »
David Mian, the owner and sole employee of a small business, purchased a press from another company with the intention of removing a vise attached to the press, for use in his business. After removing the vise, he intended to sell the press for scrap. Several years later, it was more convenient to simply give the press to another company, Century Tool and Die. In use at Century, a defect in the press caused serious injury to Joshua Sparks. Sparks sued Mian, alleging that his negligence was a cause of the injury. Allstate provided homeowners' insurance to Mian, providing liability coverage in the event of Mian's negligence. It filed suit, asking the Court to rule that it did not have to provide coverage for this incident, because it had an exclusion in the policy for injuries resulting from the insured's "business activities."
Continue reading "Allstate loses effort to avoid coverage under homeowner policy" »
The Fultz case re-surfaced again this week, when the Court of Appeals dismissed an injury claim brought by George Frommert against Teera Construction Company. Frommert fell with a collapsing scaffolding erected by Teera, a different sub-contractor on a building site, and claimed that Teera was negligent either in the erection of the scaffolding or in marking it out of service.
Continue reading "Is a negligent actor immune from liability because it is acting under a contract with a third party?" »
Douglas Latham fell and suffered injury while unloading drywall from a scissors lift to an elevated island in a middle school contruction site. The island was designed to hold hvac equipment and was enclosed on three sides. On the fourth side, a six-foot wide opening was retained for the delivery of materials and hvac equipment. The opening utilized a single cable for fall protection, and the cable was removed during deliveries.
Continue reading "Court of Appeals examines "common work area" fall protection claim" »
Jason Judy was driving a First Flight Freight Services truck at Detroit Metropolitan Airport in 2006, when he cause injuries to David Baum. Judy was insured by Progressive Michigan for no fault coverage, while the truck he was driving was insured by Citizens. The two carriers disagreed over which of them had primary responsibility to provide coverage for Baum's injuries. The trial court had ruled that Progressive had primary responsibility, but the Court of Appeals overturned the lower court judge's decision.
Continue reading "Freight driver is an "employee," not an independent contractor on day of collision" »
Susie Poole suffered severe injury when she fell over a rolled floor mat at the Down River Community Federal Credit Union. She sued the Credit Union and also the Cintas Corporation, arguing that a Cintas employee was negligent in his delivery of the rolled mat. Cintas argued that it was entitled to indemnification by Down River because it's standard contract with customers states that "Customer hereby agrees to defend, indemnify and hold harmless Company from any claims and damages arising out of or associated with this agreement, including any claims arising from defective products."
Continue reading "Court of Appeals finds ambiguity and refuses to enforce indemnity agreement" »
Keith Fowler suffered a serious eye injury while fastening lumber to a trailer with a heavy duty bungee cord. Sadly, this is a common injury associated with bungee cords: I think our firm, alone, has investigated more than half a dozen of these cases. Fowler was pulling the cord tight over the lumber when the cord separated from the hook on the opposite end and snapped back into his eye. Virtually every claim we have investigated has occurred in the same fashion. Bungee cords are deceptively dangerous pieces of equipment. In Fowler's case, the Court rejected Fowler's argument that the cords should be sold with a warning advising purchasers of the danger they present.
Continue reading "Court rejects product claim against bungee cord seller and distributor" »
George Madley sued Centex Real Estate Corporation after he was hurt on the jobsite. He argued that Centex was negligent in controlling a common work area for the safety of sub-contractors' employees. Centex had subbed out construction at a Macomb County residential housing development where Madley was hurt after being dispatched to finish "shoe and hardware" installation [installation of trim, door knobs, etc.]. Arriving at the dark, unlit and unfinished home he had been directed to trim out, Madley fell eight feet into the basement of the home after failing to recognize that another sub-contractor had removed the basement stairs to perform foundation work.
Continue reading ""Common work area" premises liability claim by injured worker is analyzed on appeal" »
Ernie Morgan was injured when a Menasha Corporation employee accidentally opened a loading platform underneath Morgan while he was delivering wood chips. Morgan secured a verdict against Menasha, however, Menasha argued that Fairhaven Wood Harvesting was obligated to pay the verdict under an indemnification contract. Fairhaven's insurance company, Essex Insurance Company argued that it was not bound by the insurance contract and did not owe a duty to pay the verdict.
Continue reading "Contractor's insurer cannot avoid liability obligation by arguing ambiguity" »
Normally, an employee cannot sue his employer for negligently-caused, on-the-job injuries. At the turn of the century, most states created workers compensation schemes that provided injured workers with compromised benefits (usually medical and partial wages) in return for the elimination of employer liability. In Michigan, the sole exception to the employer's immunity from negligent conduct arises out of a statutory exception holding employers liable for injuries that they cause intentionally. In previous cases, the Michigan appellate courts have narrowly interpreted this exception to exclude even cases where, statistically evaluated, employee injury was almost certain to result. One line of cases has emerged to define when an employee can sue for "intentional" injuries, and the Court of Appeals addressed the issue in the recent case of Sandra Johnson and Hiram Jones v. Detroit Edison Company.
Continue reading "Court again evaluates survivability of employee's claim that injury was intentionally caused by employer" »
For decades, Michigan did not allow the statute of limitations to run if a wrong-doer continued engaging in the same wrongful conduct. This policy encouraged victims to be patient in responding to negligence and nuisance and to seek out non-litigious solutions and negotiated settlements. Several years ago, however, the insurance-friendly majority of the Michigan Supreme Court handed down a ruling completely wiping out the "continuing wrong" doctrine. Under the reactionary approach of the Engler justices, the statute of limitations would run from the first day of any trespass or tort, and regardless of how many times it was repeated, the victim would have no recourse after the statute of limitations was applied to that first transgression.
Continue reading "Another party denied justice by Engler Majority's decision eliminated "continuing wrong" statute of limitations." »
Richard Loweke filed suit against Ann Arbor Ceiling and Partition Company after he was injured on a construction jobsite. Twenty sheets (several hundred pounds) of cement board stacked against a hallway wall had fallen on Loweke, causing serious injury to his leg. He sued the sub-contractor who delivered and stacked the cement board for negligence. The Court of Appeals applied an Engler Majority interpretation of negligence law to invalidate Loweke's claim. The judges cited the Fultz decision of the Engler Majority in ruling that when Ann Arbor, a subcontractor, signed a contract to deliver the cement board, it was relieved of its common law "duty of reasonable care" to third-parties, and thus owed no duty to Loweke.
Continue reading "Negligently stacked cement board injures work man; subcontractor who stacked is not responsible" »
Young Tabarak was walking home from school when a car jumped the curb and pinned her against a building, causing multiple fractures and serious injuries. Tabarak lived with her mom in Dearborn Heights. Her dad had originally come to the U.S. to escape Saddam Hussein, however, when Hussein was toppled, he returned to Iraq to seek employment and to build a new life there for his family. He was there for almost two years, living with a sister and hoping to find the means to reunite his family, when Tabarak was hurt. He had purchased car insurance on a stored vehicle from Farm Bureau. His wife's car was insured with Bristol West. Both insurers refused to pay Tabarak's medical bills and PIP benefits, so Citizens Insurance was assigned to pay the claims: it also refused to pay, forcing Tabarak's mother and Children's Hospital of Michigan to sue all three insurers.
Continue reading "Three no fault insurers but no PIP benefits, and insurers complain about frivolous lawsuits clogging the courts" »
Joanne Branham sued Rohm and Hass Company in Pennsylvania, alleged that her deceased husband's rare brain cancer was caused by chemical pollution from the Defendant's nearby plant. Branham's attorneys subpoenaed several categories of Dow Chemical records through the Michigan Courts, seeking information regarding the alleged offending chemical. The family sought Dow's studies of the chemical's carcinogenicity, and information relating to Dow's communcations with the Defendant. Dow refused to honor the subpoena, raising multiple excuses.
Continue reading "Court refuses to require Dow to respond to subpoena regarding alleged contaminant" »
Brandon Carrington was walking alongside an area of new highway construction, in the dark, when he stepped over a new "curb" into a deep hole. He suffered injuries that resulted in surgery, and his family investigated the cause of his fall. They found that he fell in to an area where one subcontractor, Cadillac Asphalt, had failed to backfill or barricade a deep hole adjacent to the new curb. When Carrington sued, Cadillac argued that under the "Engler Majority's" new analysis of contract liability, Cadillac owed no duty to Carrington or the public in general, because its failure to backfill or barricade fell within the contractual duties it had assumed to the State of Michigan as part of the construction project. In other words, Cadillac argued that because it was obligated to perform its duties safely under its contract with the State, it was relieved of any duty to act reasonably to protect innocent third-parties.
Continue reading "Court criticizes, but reluctantly enforces "contract immunity"" »
Elizabeth Banaszak was badly hurt when she fell and became entangled in the machinery of an airport escalator at Metro Airport. An employee of a subcontractor engaged in repairs, Banaszak filed suit against Otis Elevator, the Hunt Construction Group and Northwest Airlines, arguing that each of these entities had contributed to the condition that caused her injuries. Her attorneys were required to name each potentially "at-fault" entity because Michigan has almost eliminated "joint and several" or "deep-pocket" liability--leaving the victim to bear the loss associated with any at-fault who is underinsured, under-capitalized or unavailable. Banaszak's case made it to the Michigan Supreme Court this week, where the more moderate Court [after conservative activist Clifford Taylor lost his bid for re-election] reversed two lower court decisions that had been decided in favor of injured plaintiffs.
Continue reading "Woman injured during terminal escalator renovation cannot sue Northwest Airlines for unsafe premises" »
Timothy Jones suffered severe injuries when he fell through a trap door that a subcontractor's employees had just opened in a mezzanine walkway in Defendant's Sterling Heights Plant. A millwright, Jones was in the plant during change-over to convert conveyor components. He filed suit against D-C, arguing that D-C was responsible for the negligent location and construction of the trap door, and for the negligence of sub-contractor employees in opening the door without erecting barricades. The trial court dismissed his claim, noting that Daimler-Chrysler had no notice of the open trapdoor during the seconds before Jones fell.
Continue reading "Daimler-Chrysler must respond to injury claim arising out of allegedly dangerous trap door" »
David Apsey was burned over most of his torso and thighs while attempting to dismantle sterilizing lines at his employer, Dean Foods-Liberty Dairy. He sued Northwest Kent Mechanical, arguing that the company was negligent in the manner in which it reconstructed Liberty's plumbing and sterilizing system. Apsey was hurt when scalding water released from a line that Apsey believed had been drained and depressurized: his attorneys claimed that Northwest was responsible for negligence in selecting or advising over the use of ball valves installed in the line and for failing to incorporate a "pressure release system."
Continue reading "Worker scalded while dismantling plumbing cannot sue company that was refurbishing dairy" »
Safety King Incorporated provides cleaning services and specializes in cleaning and treating ductwork. It uses a sanitizing agent, triclosan, which is an antimicrobial found in a variety of uses, including personal hygiene products and cosmetics, although it is also categorized as a pesticide. Safety King purchased liability coverage through Hastings Mutual Insurance Company. In 2007, a homeowner filed suit against Safety King, arguing that the children in the home suffered injury by mis-use of the sanitizing agent. Hastings Mutual argued that it did not have to provide coverage to Safety King because its pollution exclusion applied to Safety King's use of a known pesticide. The trial court agreed and refused to enforce the liability insurance contract.
Continue reading "Insurer denied right to treat cleaning agents as "pollutant" and avoid liability coverage" »
Kristi Fries lost both hands above the wrist when the stamping machine she was operating cycled in response to her loose clothing. She sued her employer, Mavrick Metal Stamping, arguing that it was responsible beyond workers compensation benefits because it had intentionally caused her injury. An employer in Michigan is immune even from gross negligence or willful misconduct, if an employee is covered by workers compensation: the courts have been exceedingly slow to allow employees to recover more than medical and partial wages, no matter how egregious the employer's fault is causing an injury. The Court of Appeals allowed Fries to recover outside work comp, however, after reciting the facts leading up to her horrible injury.
Continue reading "Employer held accountable, beyond workers compensation, for traumatic amputation" »
Zoran Saveski attempted to sue the Ford Motor Company, alleging that he suffered injury as a direct result of intentional misconduct by a supervisor. Saveski , a toolmaker, was directed to assist with maintenance on a "Lamb" machine while the plant was shut down. During maintenance, he was left holding a 100 pound component, causing a blown disc. He maintained that the supervisor intentionally placed him in a position likely to cause injury. The Court held that he had not pleaded sufficient facts to document an exception to the workers comp "exclusive remedy" provision applicable to injuries suffered at work. In order to avoid that provision and sue his employer for negligence, Saveski would have needed to show that the supervisor actually intended his injury; it was not enough to show that an injury was "likely" or "probable".
Laura Putnam-Wesener suffered a head injury, apparently, in a motor vehicle collision. She sued the other driver and she also had to fight with her own insurer, Farm Bureau, to collect PIP benefits. Ultimately, she settled the claim against the at-fault. In the meantime, Farm Bureau sought leave of the court to add as expert witnesses the neurologist and neuropsychologist who had examined the injured woman for the at-fault's insurer. The problem was that Farm Bureau sought to add the experts 18 months late, and the Court had already extended the expert witness deadline once to accommodate Farm Bureau's request to add expert physicians.
Continue reading "Farm Bureau punished for "lying in the weeds" on experts" »