Negligence Product Liability

This tragic case involved my representation of a twelve year old boy who was present at a construction site where an Ingersoll-Rand Bobcat was being used to fill trenches in order to cover cable lines to a subdivision.  The plaintiff was watching his brother operate the backhoe on the opposite side of the trench when the backhoe came too close to the edge of the trench causing it to tip.  It crushed the plaintiff’s left leg and did considerable damage to his right leg as well. The initial claim settled for two million dollars as to the owner of the backhoe.  Following this resolution, we pressed on with claims against the manufacturer and distributor of the Ingersoll-Rand 753 Bobcat with respect to the product liability aspects of the claim which included our contention that the Bobcat had been supplied with an excessively large bucket thereby rendering it more susceptible to tips such as the one which occurred. This portion of the case settled at mediation for an additional $750,000. The minor and his family desperately needed significant resources in order to properly take care of his injuries.  A complete retrofitting of their home was necessary.

I remain in close contact with the family.  Tragically, the minor died in part due to his injuries. I provided assistance to the family after the plaintiff’s death and was able to convince the structured settlement insurer to release the funds still in the structured settlement to the family outright, without penalty.