Products Liability

Product liability claims often arise from defective consumer products such as automobiles, power equipment and household appliances. However product liability law includes virtually all consumer products placed into the stream of commerce by manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers. Most people are familiar with cases involving defective automobiles or their components. These include seatbelts, airbags, tires, faulty switches and other components. SUV rollovers and other defects involving crashworthiness are also well known. The law of product liability even includes foods and beverages. Probably the most familiar case involved McDonald’s. The jury found McDonald’s liable for serving coffee so hot that it caused third degree burns to a 79 year old woman.

In addition to injuries suffered by consumers due to defective consumer products, many workers are injured in the workplace due to defective machinery, equipment and various other commercial and industrial products. A common occurrence involves inadequate guarding or shielding of machinery. Failure to provide appropriate and necessary interlock systems is often seen in factories, especially in assembly and production lines. Inadequate safety design is frequently a problem as well. Although many workers are covered by Workers Compensation laws when they are injured on the job, there is often an additional third party claim to be investigated, especially in the serious injury cases. While Workers Compensation insurance provides some measure of benefits, it is usually relatively modest when compared to a third party recovery.

Manufacturers and sellers of defective products may be held responsible for damages caused by its products in several ways. The three most common ways are by showing:

Manufacturing Defect---A manufacturing defect occurs when the manufacturer fails to make the product according to its specifications. For example, a gear in a seatbelt mechanism may have missing teeth due to faulty production techniques.

Design Defect---A design defect occurs when an entire line of product is determined to be unreasonably dangerous. In other words, the product is manufactured according to specifications, but the specifications themselves are flawed. As an example, a production line in a factory that fails to properly shield moving parts may be defectively designed.

Inadequate Warnings—A product can be unreasonably dangerous due to inadequate instructions or warnings. Warnings must be conspicuous and alert the user of the risk involved in failing to heed the warnings. Very often these cases arise in the context of consumer products, including household chemicals, appliances and power tools and equipment.

If you have been injured as a result of a defective product you should take immediate steps to preserve the evidence. Most importantly, the defective product itself must be obtained and made available for inspection before it is lost or destroyed. If you don’t have control of the product you should immediately contact us so we can take the necessary legal action to preserve the evidence. If the product is not properly safeguarded it may be impossible to prove the product was defective. The best course of action is to contact us as soon as possible.