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PRODUCT LIABILITY

Despite best efforts to ensure products meet every relevant standard and the needs of customers, product liability suits happen. And any adverse judgment in product liability litigation can have disastrous short- and long-term consequences for not only the client but across the industry. At Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney, we take a holistic approach to product liability, helping our clients prevent litigation from the product’s inception and navigate the landscape should litigation arise.

  • Served as national litigation counsel for a manufacturer of natural rubber latex gloves in more than 225 product liability claims pending in state and federal court (MDL proceedings) based on the alleged defective allergic nature of the gloves.
  • Recently won a defense verdict in one such case filed by the widow and estate of a dealership mechanic who died of mesothelioma at age 58. The defense was premised on expert testimony in the fields of epidemiology, toxicology, risk assessment and pathology, the skillful cross-examination of plaintiff's experts and evidence of alternative exposure.
  • Served as national trial counsel for a major automaker in asbestos personal injury litigation.
  • Resolved hundreds of tenders of defense made by distributors against our glove manufacturer client.
  • Played significant role in obtaining a Frye hearing and favorable ruling in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, holding that the plaintiffs' experts' opinions that exposure to friction products causes asbestos disease "are novel and unsupported by generally accepted methodologies within the relevant scientific community."
  • Represented a major insurance carrier in many declaratory judgment actions brought by insureds seeking coverage for the cleanup of hazardous waste Superfund sites, one case alone involving more than 100 sites nationwide.
  • Obtained a complete trial victory for client Cook Composites and Polymers in a five-week federal jury trial stemming from a $405 million lawsuit filed by Viking Yacht Company and Post Marine.