Two plaintiffs plummeted 40 feet when the cable at one end of the hanging scaffolding on which they were working broke. Both sustained substantial, life altering injuries, and they were represented by Girardi Keese, a Los Angeles plaintiffs’ firm known for trying cases and achieving significant verdicts. Plaintiffs’ past medical specials were in excess of $800,000. Plaintiffs and their wives who brought loss of consortium claims sued our client, the manufacturer of the hoist motor that powered the scaffold up and down, claiming that the cable was somehow damaged as it passed through the hoist. By taking a proactive approach to the defense, learning the mechanics of the product and the business and aggressively conducting the necessary inspections and testing, we refuted plaintiffs’ experts’ opinions in deposition and received summary adjudication on plaintiffs’ claims of design defect, negligence and failure to warn, leaving only the manufacturing defect cause of action. Following our depositions of plaintiffs’ technical experts and our Motion for Summary Adjudication, we settled with all four plaintiffs for a minimal amount, less than the cost of trial.
