Archive for the ‘Ninth Circuit’ Category

Jeffrey I. Ehrlich wins reversal in Ninth Circuit of summary judgment against paralyzed shipyard worker. Richard Thompson was rendered a paraplegic when he lost his balance and fell through a defectively-constructed scaffold at the San Diego shipyard of National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (“NASSCO”). NASSCO obtained summary judgment against Thompson in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. The district court granted NASSCO’s motion on numerous grounds, finding that there was no evidence that NASSCO had furnished unsafe equipment, and no evidence that furnishing the unsafe equipment affirmatively contributed to Thompson’s injuries. The Ninth Circuit reversed and remanded, rejecting all of the district court’s findings.

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