Product Liability Alert
Risk Assessment and Hazard Analysis: Making Products Defendable
On behalf of the Defense Trial Counsel of Indiana, Kevin G. Owens recently published an article outlining the benefits gained by product manufacturers that conduct a formal risk assessment and hazard analysis of their products. He argues that it puts them in the best position to demonstrate that they indeed have satisfied their duty to Continue Reading »
“Stay In Your Lane:” SCOTUS Affirms Third-Party Defendants Can’t Remove Class Action Lawsuits from State to Federal Court
Overview: A bank filed a debt-collection action in state court against the defendant, alleging he was liable for charges on a hardware store’s credit card. The defendant responded with an individual counterclaim against the bank, and filed third-party class-action claims against the hardware store and a water purification company. The defendant’s claims alleged that the Continue Reading »
Illinois SB 1596 and Its Implications on Latent Injury Cases
The Illinois legislature has passed Senate Bill 1596 (SB 1596) and forwarded it to Governor Pritzker for signature. This bill amends the Illinois Workers Compensation Act and Occupational Diseases Act to remove the Act as an injured worker’s exclusive remedy against his or her employer where recovery under the Act is barred by the statute Continue Reading »
Has McKinney Changed the Face of Proof of Proximate Causation in Asbestos Litigation in Illinois?
The case of McKinney v. Hobart, 2018 IL App (4th) 170333, may be again changing the landscape of proximate causation proof in asbestos exposure disputes in Illinois. Recent Key Rulings In Thacker v. UNR Industries, the Supreme Court of Illinois established, “[t]o show causation in an asbestos case, a plaintiff must produce evidence of exposure Continue Reading »