NITA Publications

Garcia v. Vertex Manufacturing Company, 2nd Edition with CD

In this products-liability case involving the tip-over of an extended-reach personnel lift, a shipyard worker falls seventy feet when the lift he's in tips over. He suffers broken ankles in the fall and claims that he sustained a closed head injury. He sues Vertex Manufacturing, the maker of the lift, claiming negligent design. Experts will testify for both sides on the lift's design safety and industry standards.

The defendant alleges that the lift was within industry standards and that it tipped over because of the plaintiff's employer's failure to properly train its workers. Defendant also disputes plaintiff's claims of a head injury and personality change.

If tried for liability only, there are three witnesses for the plaintiff and two for the defense. If damages are pursued, then there are five witnesses for the plaintiff and three for the defense. A CD containing photos of the accident scene and equipment, medical reports, and computer graphics is included.

• >> TABLE OF CONTENTS
  CONTENTS
  
  INTRODUCTION
  
  INSTRUCTIONS AND STIPULATIONS
  
  COMPLAINT
  
  ANSWER
  
  DEPOSITIONS OF POTENTIAL LIABILITY WITNESSES
  
  RAYMOND GARCIA
  JOHN MACHADO
  WERNER GERHARD, P.E
  MELVIN DEMSKY
  MARVIN FELIX
  
  LIABILITY CASE DOCUMENTS
  
  EXHIBIT 1a-1f ILLUSTRATIONS FROM VERTEX 110 MANUAL (6)
  EXHIBIT 2 SIMPLIFIED WIRING DIAGRAM
  EXHIBIT 3 MARINE RESOURCES PERSONNEL LIFT TRAINING AND CERTIFICATION CHECKLIST
  EXHIBIT 4 REPORT OF MARVIN FELIX
  EXHIBIT 5 VERTEX LETTER OF 9/27/YR-5 RE: PRIOR TIP-OVER
  EXHIBIT 6 REPORT OF WERNER GERHARD, PE
  
  LIABILITY CASE PHOTOGRAPHS
  
  EXHIBIT 7 MARINE RESOURCES DOCK AFTER TIP-OVER (1)
  EXHIBIT 8 MARINE RESOURCES DOCK AFTER TIP-OVER (2)
  EXHIBIT 9 PERSONNEL LIFT CONTROL PANEL
  EXHIBIT 10 SAFETY DECAL--PROCEDURE FOR DAILY CHECK OF LOAD MANAGEMENT SYSTEM ON LIFT TURRET
  EXHIBIT 11 DECAL--DAILY SAFETY CHECKLIST ON GROUND CONTROL PANEL
  EXHIBIT 12 LIFT'S LMS CIRCUIT CARDS-LOAD MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
  EXHIBIT 13 CIRCUIT CARD WITHOUT RESETTING FUSE
  EXHIBIT 14 CIRCUIT CARD WITH RESETTING FUSE
  EXHIBIT 15 NEW AND OLD CIRCUIT CARDS SIDE-BY-SIDE
  EXHIBIT 16 BASKET CONTROL PANEL MODEL CLOSE UP
  EXHIBIT 17 BASKET CONTROL PANEL--RIGHT SIDE
  EXHIBIT 18 BASKET CONTROL PANEL--WARNINGS CLOSE UP
  EXHIBIT 19 CONTROL PANEL-CAUTION/DANGER DECAL
  EXHIBIT 20a-20c COMPUTER GRAPHICS OF LIFT FALL (3)
  
  DEPOSITIONS OF POTENTIAL DAMAGES WITNESSES
  
  STELLA GARCIA
  ELENA MORETTI, MD
  
  DAMAGES CASE DOCUMENTS
  
  EXHIBIT 21 ADMISSION NOTE, MEMORIAL HOSPITAL, 10/2/YR-2
  EXHIBIT 22 COMMUNITY COLLEGE TRANSCRIPT OF PLAINTIFF
  EXHIBIT 23 EEG TEST PRINTOUT ON PLAINTIFF, 5/14/YR-1
  EXHIBIT 24 EEG REPORT OF DR. MORETTI, 5/14/YR-1
  EXHIBIT 25 REPORTED EARNINGS OF PLAINTIFF
  EXHIBIT 26 PHOTOGRAPH OF RAY GARCIA'S SCALP LACERATION
  EXHIBIT 27 MRS UNSATISFACTORY EMPLOYEE REPORT
  
  REPORT OF DEFENSE DAMAGES EXPERT
  
  REPORT OF NEUROLOGIST J. MARLENE COFFIN, MD, 6/4/YR-1
  
  DR. COFFIN'S BACKGROUND INFORMATION
  
  LEARNED TREATISES
  
  DIAGNOSIS OF HEAD INJURIES
  
  JURY INSTRUCTIONS
  
  VERDICT FORM--LIABILITY AND DAMAGES
  
  ALTERNATE VERDICT FORM--LIABILITY ONLY

• >> AUTHORS
  
  
  • William S. Bailey
    
    
    • William S. Bailey is a partner in the Seattle firm of Fury Bailey. He devotes his practice exclusively to plaintiff's personal injury work. Mr. Bailey was the plaintiff's counsel in Washburn v. Mid-Mountain Contractors, 120 Wn.2d 246 (1992); its 8 million dollar verdict is the largest PI verdict in the King County Superior Court. He represented the plaintiff in Lockwood v. AC and S, 109 Wn.2d 235 1987), the landmark case that established the burden of proof in toxic exposure cases. He also was counsel in Falk v. Keene Corp., 113 Wn.2d 645 (1989), which maintained a strict liability standard in Washington for product liability cases, notwithstanding the 1986 Tort Reform Act. The National Law Journal selected Mr. Bailey as "Litigator of the Month" (October, 2002) for the September 5, 2002 King County Superior Court $2.8 million wrongful death jury verdict in Philippides v. Bernard. This case, based on a pretrial ruling, allowed the parents of a nondependent adult child to recover for loss of consortium for the first time in Washington and is discussed in Mr. Bailey's law review article, "Flawed Justice," 27 Seattle University Law Review 941 (Spring, 2004). Mr. Bailey has been named as a "Top 100 Superlawyer" by Washington Law and Politics every year since 2001. Seattle Magazine placed him on its "Seattle's Top Lawyers" list in 2005. He was elected to membership in the American Board of Trial Advocates in 1993 and the Damages Attorney Roundtable in 2005. He is also the author of many articles on trial practice and before returning to the part-time faculty in 2006, previously taught civil trial advocacy at Seattle University from 1980 to 1983. He is frequently a faculty member at National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA) programs in the Northwest, as well as being an instructor in the WSBA Skills Training Program. Mr. Bailey also has been an instructor in the National College of Advocacy for the American Trial Lawyers Association (ATLA). He was chosen for ATLA's 1991 "Galaxy of Rising Stars" program in New Orleans. Mr. Bailey served as legal counsel to the Washington State Democratic Party between 1985-95. He was a member of the Board of Directors of the Washington State Trial Lawyers Association (WSTLA) from 1986 through 1994. He served as the director of Continuing Legal Education for a part of that time. He was one of the recipients of the WSTLA Trial Lawyer of the Year in 1991. Mr. Bailey was a member of the Disciplinary Board of the Washington State Bar Association between 1992 and 1995, serving as the chairperson from 1994-95. He has been a hearing officer for the WSBA in disciplinary matters since 2004. He earned his J.D. degree at Northwestern University School of Law and his undergraduate degree at the University of Oregon.

  
  

  • Frederick C. Moss
    
    
    • Frederick C. Moss is professor emeritus of Law at the Southern Methodist University School of Law, where he has taught since 1978. Born in Washington, D.C., Moss received his J.D. from Villanova University in 1968. After serving as an officer in the U.S. Army from 1969 to 1971, and a federal prosecutor in the District of Columbia from 1971 to 1975, he attended Harvard Law School as a graduate teaching fellow, receiving his LL.M. in 1977. The following year, he taught at Harvard as a lecturer in law and ran Robert Keeton's mini-NITA course for the Harvard law students. In 1978, Moss came to SMU, where he teaches evidence, ethics, trial practice, and criminal law. Moss was the director of NITA's Southern Regional Basic Trial Skills Program for nine years. Currently, he is the director of the Southern Deposition Training Program since 1991. His publications include "Beyond the Fringe: Apocryphal Rules of Evidence in Texas," 43 Baylor L. Rev. 701 (1991); "Opening the Door to Extrinsic Offenses Through Misleading Blanket Statements," 18 Voice for the Defense 14 (1989) (Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association); "The Sweeping-Claims Exception and the Federal Rules of Evidence", 1982 Duke L. J. 61; "Texas Civil Trial Guide" (Dorsaneo and Johnson eds. 1989) (Chapters on Hearsay, Relevance, Competence, and Objections); and Teacher's Manual for Seckinger and Broun, Problems and Cases in Trial Advocacy (NITA 1981) (co-author).