HDI Global SE, insurers for Aryzta, have filed a lawsuit alleging negligence by a contractor retained to build a metal walkway over its bread making machine in Pennsylvania. The lawsuit alleges that metal chips from the walkway had fallen into the equipment, contaminating the bread and dough production lines, which resulting in Aryzta withdrawing one of its food products. GEC's financial expert's are industry leaders in providing rigorous financial analysis regarding claims of all types, from product liability to breach of contract, and powerfully and clearly testifying to their conclusions. You can see more about GEC's financial expertise here. There are construction injury incidents almost every day across the country. A particular incident that occurred recently involved an independent contractor who fell 12 feet from the upper portion of a staircase where, allegedly, a temporary safety handrail had been removed without warning to him. This contractor is in the midst of suing the construction company in question. GEC has extensive experience in forensic economics and particularly in construction injury cases. We have testified all over the country and have found great success with our methodology utilized within our economic analyses. GEC's methodology and research was recently cited by the Supreme Court of the State of New York as basis for ruling on a construction injury claim. Switzerland-based Syngenta was found negligent in selling genetically modified corn seed and Kansas corn growers were awarded damages of $218 million.Over 7,000 Kansas corn growers were awarded compensatory damages of $217.7 Million when Switzerland-based Syngenta was found negligent in selling genetically modified (GM) corn seed to the Kansas corn farmers, which contained a genetic trait not approved by China at the time. China is a large importer of U.S. corn and thus when the genetic trait, MIR162, was detected in corn shipments from the U.S., shipments were halted. The loss of the Chinese market resulted in corn growers in the U.S. experiencing a significant drop in the price of corn and suffering long-lasting economic damage. This is the first of eight class action lawsuits brought against Syngenta, where total nationwide damages to U.S. corn growers from being shut out of the Chinese market is estimated to exceed $5 Billion. GEC has extensive experience with crop litigation. One such case involved damage analyses associated with hundreds of farming operations resulting from an unexpected drift of a herbicide that was sprayed on BLM land. GEC was retained by the plaintiffs to assess the economic damages to the farmers.
The Economic and Legal Impact of Robot Cars: Insurance, Liability, and DamagesThe widespread adoption of robot cars could have a revolutionary impact, reducing injuries and fatalities and transforming the industry from car ownership to ride-share services. The auto insurance industry may wither, as the idea of personal car ownership slowly disappears. And without human drivers, or insurance policies to match, traditional approaches to liability may have to evolve. Already, with a rapidly growing list of computerized functions such as antilock braking, electronic stabilizing, traction controlling, tire pressure monitoring, adaptive cruise controlling, blind-spot detecting, collision warning, lane-departure warning, and emergency brake assisting, one begins to wonder, who's really driving.
The courts have faced disruptive technologies before. In 1916, the New York Times declared that autopilot systems / aeroplane stabilizers would “make the heavier-than-air machines practically foolproof." Like autonomous vehicles, these aviation advancements were lauded as great safety improvements, and were expected to have a significant impact on liability, making it more likely that autopilot manufacturers would be held to account when planes did crash. Also in the early 1900s, automatic elevators began to replace manual elevators, and when the initial technology proved dangerous, states began enacting specific safety requirements for elevators. The insurance industry developed a special “elevator liability” insurance, and courts deemed elevators “common carriers” which held operators and manufacturers to the highest duty of care under the law. In a robot car future, will liability shift from man to machine? Who will carry what type of insurance? And how will litigation change, and what will damages look like? |
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