Rosa v. Taser International, Inc.

Michael Rosa (Michael) walked up and down the street at night, yelling. Michael threatened and fled from seven police officers. Three officers used Taser M26 electronic control devices to subdue Michael, tasing him approximately 13 times before he could be placed in handcuffs. Michael slumped, experienced an irregular heartbeat, an accelerated heartbeat, and ultimately cardiac arrest and death. Tasers shoot two metal darts into the body and emit electrical pulses, causing involuntary muscle contractions that incapacitate the individual. The autopsy listed the cause of death as ventricular arrhythmia due to methamphetamine intoxication with the taser application and arrest as contributing factors. Michael’s death was later linked to metabolic acidosis, in which lactic acid from physical exertion builds up faster than the body can eliminate it, making sudden cardiac arrest more likely. Taser’s product testing included testing for immediate ventricular fibrillation, but not acidosis. In 2009, Taser did issue a warning discussing the risk of metabolic acidosis and repeated tasering. Michael’s parents, Evelyn and Robert Rosa, and his daughter Holly Rosa (plaintiffs) sued manufacturer Taser International, Inc. (Taser) (defendant) under strict liability and negligence, alleging a failure to warn officers of the danger of repeated taser use and the risk of fatal levels of metabolic acidosis. The district court awarded Taser summary judgment, concluding the risk of metabolic acidosis was not known or knowable when the M26 was distributed in December 2003 or in August 2004 when Michael died. The Rosas appealed, arguing there was a duty to test products and integrate into warnings information from case reports of potential adverse effects and peer-reviewed journal articles and studies.