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TASER Liability Verdict Upheld, but Remittitur Granted

Article • February 15, 2013 • from PLN February, 2013

Filed under: Stun Guns/Tasers, Civil Procedure, Damages, Product Liability

TASER Liability Verdict Upheld, but Remittitur Granted by A North Carolina U.S. District Court has held, in ruling on a post-trial motion, that a jury’s liability verdict against TASER International related to the death of a juvenile shocked by one of the company’s TASER devices was reasonable, but granted remittitur ...

Oregon DOC Gets Tiny Cut of $3.34 Million Pfizer Settlement

Article • December 15, 2012 • from PLN December, 2012

Filed under: Contractor Misconduct, Medical, Medication, Product Liability

Oregon DOC Gets Tiny Cut of $3.34 Million Pfizer Settlement by The Oregon Department of Corrections (ODOC) was duped by Pfizer, Inc.’s misleading statements and studies used to market an antibiotic, according to the Oregon Department of Justice (DOJ). As such, the ODOC received part of a $3.34 million settlement ...

No Immunity in Product Liability Suit Because of FDA Warning

Article • November 15, 2011

Filed under: Immunity/Liability, Product Liability

No Immunity in Product Liability Suit Because of FDA Warning by In March 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously affirmed a Ninth Circuit holding that the makers of Zicam Cold Remedy (Matrixx Initiatives, Inc.) were potentially liable for failing to disclose reports of a possible link between their product and ...

THE ANATOMY OF A POST-TASERING DEATH

Article • May 15, 2011

Filed under: Cardiovascular, Excessive Force, Stun Guns/Tasers, Product Liability, Police, Excessive Force (Police)

THE ANATOMY OF A POST-TASERING DEATH by Lynn Wilson By Lynne Wilson The Government of British Columbia’s independent inquiry into the circumstances surrounding Robert Dziekansi’s death on October 14, 2007 is the most comprehensive and illuminating investigation conducted to date into the dangerousness of Tasers or “conducted energy devices or ...

Tear Gas: Chemical Cops Tear Gas and Pepper Spray Can be Deadly

Article • April 15, 2010

Filed under: Organizing, Protests, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Product Liability, Excessive Force (Police)

Tear Gas: Chemical Cops Tear Gas and Pepper Spray Can be Deadly by Terry J. Allen Tear Gas: Chemical Cops Tear Gas and Pepper Spray Can be Deadly by Terry J. Allen, In These Times, May 29, 2000 The tons of tear gas and pepper spray munitions Seattle police used ...

The Big Three Chemical Weapons

Article • April 15, 2010

Filed under: Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Immunity/Liability, Product Liability

The Big Three Chemical Weapons by Terry J. Allen by Terry Allen Each of the three chemical weapons used by the Seattle police—CN and CS tear gases and pepper spray—carries risks. The danger depends not only on how and on whom the weapons are used, but on the particular strength ...

Tobacco Companies Cannot Be Sued Under Section 1983; NJSFA Does Not Create Private Cause of Action

Article • May 15, 2009

Filed under: Smoking, Summary Judgment, State Law Claims, Parties, Immunity/Liability, Product Liability

Tobacco Companies Cannot Be Sued Under Section 1983; NJSFA Does Not Create Private Cause of Action by A New Jersey federal court dismissed a state prisoner’s suit against several tobacco companies for injuries from second-hand smoke inhalation. New Jersey prisoner James Hemphill sued Philip Morris USA, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., ...

Use of Questionable “Lie Detectors” by  Law Enforcement Expands Nationwide

Article • December 15, 2008 • from PLN December, 2008

Filed under: Contractor Misconduct, Sex Offenders (Discrimination), Self Incrimination, Polygraphs, Crime, Wrongful Conviction, Parole Conditions, Immunity/Liability, Product Liability

Use of Questionable “Lie Detectors” by  Law Enforcement Expands Nationwide by Matthew Clarke Use of Questionable “Lie Detectors” by ?Law Enforcement Expands Nationwide by Matt Clarke In the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, law enforcement and other government agencies implemented new practices to obtain information from suspects ...

TASER International’s Stock Shocked By  $6.2 Million Damages Award

Article • October 15, 2008 • from PLN October, 2008

Filed under: Financing, Excessive Force, Stun Guns/Tasers, Damages, Product Liability, Police, Excessive Force (Police)

TASER International’s Stock Shocked By  $6.2 Million Damages Award by John Dannenberg TASER International’s Stock Shocked By ?$6.2 Million Damages Award by John E. Dannenberg The stock of TASER International, Inc. tanked by 11% to $6.13 per share on June 9, 2008 when three days earlier a federal jury in ...

Prisoner Awarded $3.50 in Product Liability for Defective Shower Shoes

Article • July 15, 2008

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Food, Product Liability

Prisoner Awarded $3.50 in Product Liability for Defective Shower Shoes by A Massachusetts Superior Court awarded David Jackson, a prisoner at the state prison in Walpole, $3.50 for a products liability claim related to a pair of plastic “deluxe” shower shoes Jackson bought from the prison canteen. The private canteen ...

Tainted Chinese Toothpaste Distributed in U.S. Prisons and Hospitals

Article • April 15, 2008 • from PLN April, 2008

Filed under: Conditions of Confinement, Toxic Fumes/Chemicals, Hygiene Supplies, Product Liability

Tainted Chinese Toothpaste Distributed in U.S. Prisons and Hospitals by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke On June 1, 2007, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a warning that toothpaste made in China was found to be contaminated with diethylene glycol (DEG), a toxic chemical used in antifreeze and ...

Pennsylvania Prisoner’s Penis Injury in Farming Accident Nets $750,000 Jury Verdict

Article • December 15, 2007

Filed under: Work, Prison Labor, Workplace Injury, Product Liability

Pennsylvania Prisoner’s Penis Injury in Farming Accident Nets $750,000 Jury Verdict by Pennsylvania Prisoner's Penis Injury in Farming Accident Nets $750,000 Jury Verdict A Pennsylvania prisoner who sustained penis and groin injuries in a farming accident was awarded $750,000. Mr. Hilliard was working on the prison farm while confined at ...

Skin Ulcer from Delouser Nets Michigan Jail Prisoner $3,500 Settlement

Article • December 15, 2007

Filed under: Medical, Skin, Toxic Fumes/Chemicals, Product Liability

Skin Ulcer from Delouser Nets Michigan Jail Prisoner $3,500 Settlement by A Michigan prisoner was awarded $3,500 for a skin ulcer he sustained from being sprayed with a delousing product. Mr. Young was sprayed with a delousing product when he entered the Eaton County Jail. The product caused a skin ...

Supreme Court Adopts Expert Testimony Standard

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Expert Witnesses, Immunity/Liability, Product Liability

Supreme Court Adopts Expert Testimony Standard by The U.S. Supreme Court held that the Federal Rules of Evidence supersedes the "Frye Test" in providing the standard for admitting expert scientific testimony in a federal trial. Two minor children and their parents (petitioners) argued that the children's serious birth defects had ...

Discovery Materials Presumptively Public

Article • May 15, 2007

Filed under: Disclosure of Records, Discovery, Intervention, Immunity/Liability, Product Liability

Discovery Materials Presumptively Public by At 1121: "Generally, the public can gain access to litigation documents and information produced during discovery unless the party opposing disclosure shows 'good cause' why a protective order is necessary." The fruits of discovery are "presumptively public." "For good cause to exist, the party seeking ...

TaserThe Less Lethal Weapon with a Fatal Attraction to Prisoners

Article • October 15, 2006 • from PLN October, 2006

Filed under: Guard Misconduct, DOC/BOP misconduct, Excessive Force, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Stun Guns/Tasers, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Restraints, Product Liability

TaserThe Less Lethal Weapon with a Fatal Attraction to Prisoners by John Dannenberg TaserThe Less Lethal Weapon with a Fatal Attraction to Prisoners by John E. Dannenberg Extensive medical evidence strongly supports the Taser devices will not cause lasting aftereffects or fatality. Taser International literature Tasers, fifty-thousand volt electronic stun ...

Survivors of Texas Jail Suicidee Win $516,000 Against Phone Provider

Article • August 15, 2006 • from PLN August, 2006

Filed under: Attorney Fee Awards, Damages, Costs, Telephone Access, Municipal Liability, Product Liability, Mental Health, Suicides

Survivors of Texas Jail Suicidee Win $516,000 Against Phone Provider by Matthew T. Clarke The mother and son of a prisoner who committed suicide by hanging himself from a telephone in his jail cell won a lawsuit against the phone provider. On appeal, the award was upheld, but some of ...

Police Department Class Action Fraud Suit Filed Against Stun Gun Maker

Article • March 15, 2006 • from PLN March, 2006

Filed under: Excessive Force, Stun Guns/Tasers, Product Liability

Police Department Class Action Fraud Suit Filed Against Stun Gun Maker by by John E. Dannenberg A class action lawsuit against Taser International, Inc., the Arizona-based manufacturer of police stun guns, was filed on July 18, 2005 in Chicago U.S. District Court on behalf of the Dolton, Illinois police department ...

Guard Sues Over Smoke Grenade Injury

Article • June 15, 2005 • from PLN June, 2005

Filed under: Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Immunity/Liability, Product Liability

Guard Sues Over Smoke Grenade Injury by The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit reversed a lower court's grant of summary judgment against a prison guard who was injured by a smoke grenade. On June 2, 1998, Timothy Gamradt, a Bureau of Prisons (BOP) guard, was hurt during ...

Connecticut Woman Gang-Raped In Sheriff's Van Settles Suit For $480,000

Article • March 15, 2005 • from PLN March, 2005

Filed under: Sexual Assault, Prisoner-Prisoner Assault, Transportation, Municipal Liability, Product Liability

Connecticut Woman Gang-Raped In Sheriff's Van Settles Suit For $480,000 by by Michael Rigby The State of Connecticut has paid $480,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by a female prisoner who was gang-raped by male prisoners in the back of a sheriff's van. On August 18, 1999, S.C. was a ...