Media

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Successful verdicts

Alabama Jury awards $1.7 Million in wrongful death suit, The Birmingham News, January 15, 2010

A Jefferson County jury this week returned a $1.71 million judgment against former Alabama Power and Southern Nuclear President Joseph Farley, who was sued last year after his vehicle struck and killed a Southern Research Institute em­ployee delivering mail. The wrongful death lawsuit was filed in circuit court in April by Gre­gory Potts' brother, the executor of his estate. Potts, 50, of Woodlawn, was hit Feb. 11 while crossing 22nd Street at Eighth Court South to de­liver mail from one SRI building to another.

Victory against Ford after Third Jury Trial in Florida Seatbelt Defect Case; Jury Awards Orange Man $32.5M in '96 Collision, Orlando Sentinel, May 19, 2007

A northwest Orange County man who suffered severe brain injuries in a 1996 car accident when a seatbelt failed was awarded $32.5 million Thursday by a local jury. After a third trial in a long-disputed case, an Orange Circuit Court jury ruled that a restraint-system defect caused the head injury to Mark Force, now 38. It also ruled that Ford Motor Co. and Mazda Motor Corp.—which designed the seat-belt system for part-owner Ford—were negligent for failing to warn consumers about the seatbelt defect in the 1993 Ford Escort driven by Force.

"They had five years of warning to do something about this on Ford Escorts and Mercury Tracers but did nothing about it," said one of Force's trial lawyers, Ben Hogan of Birmingham, AL. Force, then 27, was driving northbound on two-lane Clarcona Road on July 1, 1996, when he was struck head-on by a southbound Ford Mustang that swerved into his lane to pass another vehicle. He was wearing a motorized shoulder belt and a manual lap belt.

Failed seatbelt yields $32.5 million verdict, LawyersUSA, June 18, 2007, p. 9

Hogan Law Office, PC made new case law in Force v. Ford Motor Co., 879 So.2d 103 (Fla. 5th DCA 2004)

Earlier litigation in this case had resulted in an initial defense verdict which the Hogan Law Office, PC brought to the Florida Court of Appeals. A 2004 decision reversed the initial defense verdict and made new case law. The 2004 decision was the first time Florida recognized the products liability Consumer Expectation Test in addition to a traditional products liability Risk/Utility Test. It basically doubled the ways Florida products liability plaintiffs can win. To read the case, click Force v. Ford Motor Co., 879 So.2d 103 (Fla. 5th DCA 2004).

Volkswagen of America, Inc. v. Marinelli, 628 So.2d 378 (Ala. 1993)

This groundbreaking case in Alabama affirmed plaintiff's use of both digital accident reconstruction as well as scientific testimony to establish rollover propensity. The Alabama Supreme Court noted, "The plaintiffs presented a strong case that the design of the vehicle caused the rollover in this case. The jury saw two "highway vehicle object simulation” ("HVOSM”) computer simulations of the accident. The first, offered by Volkswagen's expert, Ray McHenry, replicated the accident based the dimensions of the Volkswagen Thing and on measurements taken from the accident scene. The second HVOSM simulation was offered through rebuttal testimony of Dr. Michael A. Kaplan, an expert testifying for the plaintiffs. This simulation showed that the rollover would not have occurred if the vehicle had had a stability ratio of 1.2; that ratio could have been obtained by lowering the center of gravity of the vehicle one inch.”

General Motors Corp. v. Edwards, 482 So.2d 1176 (Ala. 1985)

This case established the automobile crashworthiness doctrine in Alabama whereby a manufacturer may be held liable for a defective design that causes or enhances injury although it did not cause the original accident. Edwards also held among other things that compliance with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards is not a complete defense to a products liability action.

Bucyrus-Erie Co. v. Von Haden, 416 So.2d 699 (Ala. 1982)

The Alabama Supreme Court upheld the admission of gruesome pictures of the plaintiff's injuries suffered in an industrial accident including pictures of a bloodstained crane.

Charity Work

Outreach to Uganda

Firm mission trips have led to fresh water wells in 3 Ugandan villages that previously suffered from water borne diseases: Nakavule and Bukobo in 2009, and Kamuli in 2010. Please don't hesitate to contact us if you would be interested in participating in this critical program. Pictured below are the blessings of the well by Lutheran ministers and Ben in each place:

Bukobo, Uganda:

Nakavule, Uganda:

Kamuli, Uganda:

Contact us

To discuss your case with a Hogan Law Office, PC attorney, call 205-327-5235 or click here to contact us online.