Chemical Manufacturer Defense Verdict

Posted on February 12, 2015 by Fulcher Law

Fulcher Hagler LLP’s trial team of Art Davison and Sonja Tate obtained a defense verdict on Feb. 9, 2015 after a two week trial in U. S. District Court in Columbia, SC. The defendant was an international chemical manufacturer who produced a wastewater deodorizer. The plaintiff was an employee of the Town of Lexington, SC Utilities Department who inhaled a mist of the deodorizer in an industrial accident in April 2010. He alleged the defendant provided insufficient warnings of hazards associated with the product, and he further alleged the defendant was responsible for the accident.

The plaintiff, age 40, claimed a permanent respiratory injury, totally disabling him from working. His economist blackboarded around $1 million in future lost wages and $1.3 million in future medicals in a life care plan.

The complex trial involved 34 witnesses, 14 of whom were experts in safety, toxicology, pulmonology, industrial hygiene, engineering, economics and vocational rehabilitation. On the eleventh day of trial, while the jury was deliberating, plaintiff’s counsel dismissed the defendant toller with prejudice. Shortly thereafter, the jury returned a defense verdict for the manufacturer.