Trial is the monthly publication of the American Association for Justice (“AAJ”), formerly the American Trial Lawyers Association (“ATLA”). Its issue for November, 2014, focuses on the special cases of product liability, and is entitled “Product Liability: What lurks behind the label?”
Four lead articles in November Trial of AAJ cover personal injuries and wrongful death in the context of vehicle accidents, food labeling, medical implants, and “green” products: “Switched Off: The story of how GM’s ignition switch defects came to light can be instructive for other products liability litigation against automakers,” Id. at 14-20; “When ‘All Natural’ Is Anything But,” id. at 22-27; “MANEUVERING IN THE PREEMPTION MAZE,” id. at 28-36; and “BEHIND THE GREEN LABEL”. Id. at 38-42. It also includes a second article about the United States historically largest vehicle manufacturer: “GM TESTS THE LIMITS OF LIABILITY POST-BANKRUPTCY”. Id. at 18-19.
AAJ’s November issue of Trial additionally reports 4 verdicts and 1 settlement for serious personal injuries in its “Verdicts & Settlements”: $28,600,000.00 Connecticut jury award in “Domestic Assault Causes Lawyer Career-Ending Brain Injury,” id. at 8; $1,500,000.00 North Carolina judge award in “Negligent Operation of Go-Kart Track,” id. at 8, 10; $450,000.00 Tennessee jury award in “Failure to Remove Tripping Hazard,” id. at 10; $9,300,000.00 Oregon settlement in “Failure to Arrest Convicted Drug User Who Violated Probation,” id. at 10; and $3,970,000.00 Montana jury award in “Unsafe Log Unloading Procedures”. Id. at 10-11. Although not reported in Trial, on October 23, 2014, a jury in Roanoke, Virginia, awarded a convertible car rollover victim $20,000,000.00 in damages again Mazda in a product liability lawsuit for paralysis.
