LIMA, Ohio (Legal Newsline) - A worker can proceed with his lawsuit against Gates Corp. over an allegedly defective hose that ruptured and spewed sulfuric acid on him, an Ohio appeals court ruled, finding state product-liability law wasn’t preempted by federal law.
Robert J. Einbacker sued Gates after he was injured pumping acid from a truck into a holding tank at a manufacturer in Pennsylvania. He claimed the transfer hose was defective.
A trial court dismissed Einbacker’s case after Gates argued his claims under the Ohio Products Liability Act were preempted by the federal Hazardous Materials Transportation Act, which regulates containers used to transport hazardous materials in commerce. The trial court cited two Ohio precedents involving lawsuits against shippers where state product-liability claims were preempted by HMTA.
Einbacker’s case could be distinguished, Ohio’s Third District Court of Appeals ruled in a Feb. 5 decision by Judge William R. Zimmerman.
“Einbecker’s claims differ because he does not present claims versus the shipper of the hazardous material,” the court concluded. “Manufacturing a hose that is used to drain the hazardous-material container differs markedly from the HMTA requirements of packages or containers qualified for use in transporting hazardous materials in commerce.”