Congratulations to Brandon Smith and Shaun Campbell of HWS Law Group on their defense verdict and successful defense of a manufacturer in a product liability claim at trial in San Juan County Superior Court. The plaintiff alleged to have suffered a traumatic brain injury at a local grocery store as a result of being hit in the head by the restroom door when a store employee was entering the restroom at the same time the plaintiff was exiting. The plaintiff alleged that, at the time of her injury, she was attempting to utilize a foot-operated door opener that allows users to open the door with their foot instead of using the door handle and that the body posture to use the device exacerbated her injuries.  She claimed to require an extensive lifecare plan and loss of earnings in excess of $1.3 Million in addition to millions in general damages.

Plaintiff originally filed suit against the store in early 2020, claiming her permanent injuries were due to the store employee’s negligence. She later amended her complaint to add product liability claims against the manufacturer of the foot-operated door opener. Brandon and Shaun were retained to represent the manufacturer against the product liability claims. Two months prior to trial, the store reached a confidential settlement agreement with the plaintiff, leaving the manufacturer and the product liability claims as the only remaining issues for trial.

After eight days of trial in picturesque San Juan County, the jury returned a verdict in less than an hour, finding that the manufacturer had supplied a product that was reasonably safe, and that the manufacturer had supplied adequate warnings and instructions.  The jury’s ruling was a great relief for Brandon and Shaun’s client after years of litigation.