GM, outside firm conspired to hide faulty ignition switches, lawyer alleges

A plaintiff’s lawyer has accused General Motors Co. of conspiring with an outside law firm to conceal faulty ignition switches in millions of cars. Court documents filed by Texas lawyer Bob Hilliard, who represents consumers suing the automaker in a consolidated federal court case in New York, say GM and…

Jun 11, 2015 5:00 PM CDT

Lawyer’s idea spawns industry that finds successful accident plaintiffs to repay insurers

A Kentucky lawyer who represented insurers came up with an idea in the 1980s: Why not identify personal injury judgments that can be used to repay medical costs covered by insurance companies? The lawyer, George Rawlings, asked Humana Inc. for a printout of codes for injuries such as broken bones…

Jun 11, 2015 7:55 AM CDT

Metro workers to blame in lawyer’s falling death for not finding him until 4 days later, suit says

Mass transit workers didn’t find a lawyer’s body until four days after his fall at a Washington, D.C., Metro station, a $25 million lawsuit alleges. The lawyer, 35-year-old Okiemute Whiteru, didn’t receive prompt aid after the fall, leading to his death in October 2013, the suit says. The fall was…

Jun 10, 2015 7:15 AM CDT

Lawyers pay $1M and apologize to resolve ‘provably false’ claims made in sex-abuse suit

Two lawyers have paid at least $1 million and apologized to resolve counterclaims and countersuits brought by two entertainment industry executives in a teen-sex-abuse case that the attorneys say they now know was baseless. Attorneys Jeff Herman of Florida and Mark Gallagher of Hawaii made the settlement concerning lawsuits filed…

Jun 8, 2015 1:00 PM CDT

Those who refuse vaccinations can cause outbreaks: Should they have to pay for it?

Jun 1, 2015 1:10 AM CDT

Jury in Delaware awards $100M to 51-year-old woman in transvaginal mesh case

Delaware is not a state known for big jury verdicts in individual personal injury cases. But on Thursday a jury there awarded a 51-year-old former bank teller $25 million in compensatory damages and $75 million in punitives against Boston Scientific Corp. Deborah Barba said she suffered constant discomfort, urinary tract…

May 29, 2015 12:25 PM CDT

New issue in Takata air bag recall: Are replacements safe?

Investigations are ongoing by automakers, safety regulators and air bag manufacturer Takata Corp. to determine why inflators failed on some Takata airbags, sending metal shrapnel into drivers and passengers at high speed. Meanwhile, the largest recall in National Highway Traffic Safety Administration history is underway. But until the cause of…

May 26, 2015 3:20 PM CDT

Paralegal points way to $4.25M judgment reversal

A stunning reversal of fortune for the plaintiffs in a $4.25 million truck-crash case resulted from a defense-team paralegal’s ability to read French. A charred document from the wreck scene that had been assumed to be a birth certificate for the victim, Hawa Sissoko, was in fact a marriage license,…

May 26, 2015 12:35 PM CDT

Dad of hurt girl sues home insurer: House guest’s chain saw prank a foreseeable cause of truck crash

The parents of a girl struck by a truck in an Omaha, Nebraska, street on Halloween 2011 have sued a home insurance company, among other defendants, seeking compensation for her injuries. The Douglas County Court complaint contends homeowner Hilda Martinez bears some responsibility for the accident, because she allowed guest…

May 22, 2015 3:45 PM CDT

Law firm asks 3rd Circuit to block court-ordered interviews of over 30 clients

Facing sanctions over thalidomide birth-defect litigation that was determined to be either baseless or time-barred, did the plaintiffs’ law firm dismiss 27 cases for its own benefit? That is the question a federal judge in Philadelphia is asking and seeking to answer by having special master William Hangley interview more…

May 20, 2015 1:05 PM CDT

Air bag maker Takata’s expanded recall of nearly 34M vehicles is largest ever

After sparring with U.S. regulators over the past year, Takata Corp. has expanded its recall of defective air bags to nearly 34 million vehicles. Announced Tuesday, the recall is the largest in National HighwayTraffic Safety Administration history. At issue are air bags containing inflator mechanisms made by Takata. A defective…

May 20, 2015 11:00 AM CDT

Appeals court condemns ‘puerile name calling’ and reverses verdict because of lawyer’s comments

A lawyer representing a teen injured when she was struck by a drunken driver didn’t get the message when the trial judge warned him to stop making improper arguments, according to a New Jersey appeals court. The lawyer continued to make inappropriate comments at trial and took a similar tack…

May 18, 2015 5:45 AM CDT

Injured Amtrak worker is among the first to file suit over Philadelphia train wreck

An injured Amtrak employee is among the first to sue over this week’s fatal train wreck in Philadelphia. Bruce Phillips filed a federal lawsuit in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act. His lawyer, Michael Olley of Coffey Kaye Myers & Olley, said the suit is…

May 15, 2015 4:30 PM CDT

Suits over fatal Philadelphia Amtrak crash will depend on what NTSB finds: Was train going too fast?

After a fatal Amtrak crash in Philadelphia on Tuesday, it is virtually a certainty that litigation is on the horizon concerning at least some of the seven people killed and over 200 injured. But until the National Transportation Safety Board completes an investigation, it won’t be clear what direction that…

May 14, 2015 10:00 AM CDT

Employer who provided bucket in van for use as toilet is sued for $4M over death of worker

Andrew Lane needed to use the toilet while on the job for an Oregon company that provided pressure-washing and gutter-cleaning services to homeowners. But his employer, Superior Home Maintenance, provided only a bucket for that purpose. And, when Lane stepped into the back of the work truck where the bucket…

May 13, 2015 3:15 PM CDT