PRODUCT LIABILITY DAMAGE AWARDS ARE HIGHER THAN EVER
Posted on Wednesday, July 15th, 2015 at 11:30 pm
Very Large Damage Awards for Defective Products Make a Come Back
Last year enormously large jury awards against defective products made a very strong comeback. It has been almost 10 years since any billion-dollar product defect verdicts have been awarded. The biggest award was for over $23 billion going to a family who lost their loved one in their mid 30’s. The next largest award came in at $9 billion for a defective product victim that developed bladder cancer after taking Actos to treat diabetes.
These big jury awards signal more to come for the companies that produce defective products from automakers to drug manufactures. With the continuously reported recall news about these bad products potential jurors have become rather suspicious of large companies and less likely to label a product liability attorney as an ambulance chaser.
Of these large jury awards the largest portion is punitive damages which is intended to punish the defendant for their wrongdoing. Mostly all of the biggest punitive awards get drastically cut down by appellant courts.
Even Larger Settlements Are a Result of This Trend
It’s not so much the large amounts of money that companies have to pay out in these verdicts it’s the long term product brand damage that lives on for years after the case is completed. A settlement before going to trial allows the company to not admit any wrongdoing on their part. This has prompted companies to push for higher settlement awards thereby avoiding any long-term damage to their good name. Defective product attorneys are now smelling “blood in the water” and are now seeking even larger punitive damages for their clients.
Large Defective Product Cases from Last Year
Defective product cases including tobacco products and the Actos drug were the biggest cases involving over $1 billion last year. Many of the next largest awards include: Trinity Industries ($525 million) for not handing over details of changes to their guardrail design, Royal Philips ($466 million) for a patent infringement on their medical device and Medtronic (393 million) for a patented heart valve design they produced.
Free Legal Advise from our Sacramento Defective Product Attorneys
Contact our Sacramento Defective Product Attorneys for a FREE consultation. Here, at the Tiemann Law Firm, our Sacramento Defective Product Attorneys are dedicated to helping you and your family secure the financial help you deserve. Our Sacramento and Folsom, CA Defective Product attorneys can meet with you free of charge, and if we take your case, we will charge no attorneys’ fees unless you receive compensation. We not only serve Sacramento but also Folsom, Citrus Heights, Rocklin and other areas in Northern California and greater Sacramento, California.
