Mr. Sedgewick has a unique ability to translate technical analysis into plain language. Working directly with engineers and accident reconstructionists, he gets quickly to the heart of each case, and finds the most compelling liability argument suited to the case.
Rivets are metal fasteners used to hold things, often other metal parts, together. Generally, rivets have a head and a shaft. The shaft is passed through pre-drilled holes in the parts to be connected until the underside of the head stops against one of the parts to be connected. The shaft is then “upset” or [...]
Automobile seat back failure has been known to create a danger of catastrophic injury for many years. Especially in rear-end collisions, poorly designed or defective seats can collapse backwards upon impact. This happens because manufacturers seek to save money by using old seat designs (which are lightweight and flimsy) and by including recliner hardware on only one seat back hinge rather than on [...]
Six Sigma is the most powerful quality control tool ever employed in industry. Developed at Motorola in 1986, this rigorous approach to quality engineering led to rapid improvement in the company’s products. It is believed to have been a major factor in Motorola’s being awarded the inaugural Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award. Because of the [...]
A Pennsylvania jury has returned a verdict of $13.5 million in a case involving the death of a child caused by a defective electric fan motor. The motor, which was sold as part of an inexpensive household fan, overheated and caused a fire. Several years after the fan was made and sold, Lasko Products, Inc., [...]
Toyota and Truth Is Toyota committed to telling the truth? That big question goes unasked as the news outlets splash recall, factory shut down, and apology stories across their front pages, websites and TV news shows. Four people died in a speeding Lexus in August of 2009. A woman died when her family’s Camry accelerated across [...]
The Toyota recall related to sudden acceleration problems is further evidence of the limits of the power of government to regulate big business. According to a recent New York Times story, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration conducted six different investigations into complaints of sudden and unexpected acceleration in Toyota vehicles, and closed them all with no [...]
The Chicago Sun Times and Bloomberg News have reported that the top 5 product liability verdicts returned in 2009 were more than 50% greater than the top 5 in 2008. Leading the way in size were verdicts against cigarette makers and drug companies. The tension in product liability trials is often around the public perception [...]
In 2009, the US government poured billions of dollars into GM and Chrysler, while at the same time allowing them to wipe out the legitimate personal injury claims of thousands of individuals injured by defective cars and trucks sold by these two companies. This was done through the GM and Chrysler bankruptcy filings, and over [...]
Hyundai Motor America has been punished by the highest court in the State of Washington for falsely responding to questions in a court case. The case involved allegations of defects in a Hyundai Accent which allowed a seat to collapse, and resulted in a passenger, Jesse Magana, being rendered paraplegic when he was ejected from [...]
The problem of “false park” and passenger cars, vans and trucks “jumping into gear” has been a problem for many years. Some transmission-shifting systems are worse than others. More than thirty years ago, Ford received many complaints about its cars jumping into reverse. In the 1990s, Chrysler had many claims related to minivans slipping into gear [...]
