La. Appeals Court Reverses Awards of Summary Judgment to Smith & Nephew, Sales Representative

LAKE CHARLES, La. — A Louisiana appellate court has reversed awards of summary judgment to Smith & Nephew, its distributor, and a sales representative in a knee implant case, ruling that a jury should decide whether the sales representative and his employers breached their duties to the plaintiffs.

However, in the Oct. 1 opinion, the Louisiana Court of Appeal, 3rd Circuit, found the trial court did not err in failing to act on plaintiffs’ motion to substitute counsel and motion for recusal, finding they were untimely submitted.

Patsy Grabowski underwent a total knee replacement in July 2007, during which her …