Sullivan & Associates, LLC successfully obtained a favorable settlement in the amount of $150,000 in a products liability action arising out of a defective star point socket bit. Sullivan & Associates, LLC brought a subrogation action in Suffolk Superior Court against an overseas product manufacturer and wholesale tool supplier after the subject tool shattered causing a significant eye injury to an automotive mechanic.

It was alleged that a material deficiency in the manufacturing process (heat treatment, chemical composition, microstructure issues) within the subject bit more than likely contributed to the catastrophic torsional overload resulting in the shattered bit entering the claimants eye. The Firm retained a Professional Engineer and Metallurgy Expert to establish the subject tool was defective and in an unsafe condition when it shattered while being used in a reasonable manner and in a customary application for which subject tools are designed and intended. The matter was settled prior to trial in 2016.