May 1, 2023
By: Sierra Taylor Horton
“On March 22, 2018, William Cox planned to end his workweek by catching a flight and returning home—but instead—tragedy struck. Cox was conducting a quality check on a company’s newly-purchased hydrogen generator when it exploded. Leading up to the incident, the generator had been functioning properly and passed all necessary diagnostic tests. The explosion occurred as Cox was powering down the machine, and its large panels flew off in Cox’s direction and propelled him across the room. Though Cox survived the explosion, he remained in the hospital for two months. He suffered severe injuries including complex facial lacerations, fractured bones, hearing loss, a subdural hematoma, and acute kidney damage; his life will never be the same. Cox sued the company that purchased the generator. That company then impleaded other companies involved in the manufacture and certification of the generator. Instead of the court deciding Cox’s case on the merits of his claim, it took years for the court to first determine the preliminary matter of jurisdiction. That is, the court had to figure out if it had the authority—or the jurisdiction—to decide the claims against the impleaded parties.”
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