What is Product Liability?
Product liability refers to the accountability of a merchant, business, or manufacturer for bodily injury or property damage caused by a defect in their product.
According to the Legal Information Institute (LII) at Cornell Law School, product liability is defined as “the legal liability of manufacturers, distributors, and sellers to compensate consumers, users, and bystanders for damages or injuries caused by defective products.” As such, the term refers to the legal responsibility of manufacturers, retailers, and other parties involved in the supply chain for injuries or damages caused by defective or unsafe products. It encompasses the legal principles and rules governing liability for products that fail to meet safety standards or perform as expected, resulting in harm to consumers or users.
Product defects that may give rise to product liability can induce design, manufacturing, or labeling defects. Navigating product liability for such defective products involves proving that a product was defective, establishing causation between the defect and the injury, and demonstrating damages suffered by the plaintiff. Legal remedies may include compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and punitive damages in cases of gross negligence or willful misconduct.
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SOUND Devices Act Closes Product Liability Loophole
Scranton, PA, February 23, 2012 – Pennsylvania product liability lawyer Caroline Munley today called for passage of a bill that would enable the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to reject medical devices that are modeled after devices already known to be flawed.
“The SOUND Devices Act closes a loophole that allows medical device manufacturers to basically skirt the FDA approval process,” said Munley, a partner in the regional law firm of Munley, Munley & Cartwright, whose Pennsylvania product liability attorneys represent consumers and patients who are harmed by defective products, including flawed medical devices.
“A process that avoids scrutiny is wrong and should be unnecessary,” Munley said. “Every new medical device submitted for approval for the American marketplace should be able to stand on its own merits.”
The Safety Of Untested and New Devices Act of 2012 (SOUND Devices Act) eliminates a loophole in the Food and Drug Administration’s device-approval process known as section 510(k), […]
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Woman Who Lost Arm To Receive $8.8 Million
In 2004, a 16-year-old girl got the pocket of her coat caught on a bolt protruding from the drive shaft of an auger-like post-hole digger operated by her stepfather. Her arm wrapped around the auger resulting in the loss of her arm.
A New York jury hearing the case in State Supreme Court decided the manufacturer of the digger, Ford New Holland (now known as Case New Holland) sold a defective product and awarded the now 21-year-old girl $8.8 million. The jury placed 35% of the blame on Case New Holland and 30% each on Peter A Smith, the owner of the digger and the person who loaned the digger to the stepfather, and on SMC Corp. from Sioux Fall, S.D., the company who assembled the digger.
The bolt that caught on the girl’s coat was supposed to be covered by a shield, but the shield broke and was removed by Smith, […]
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GlaxoSmithKline Sets Aside $3.4 Billion For Avandia Suits
GlaxoSmithKline will put aside $3.4 billion to pay for additional product liability charges over its drug Avandia.
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Testing Reveals Hexavalent Chromium Present In Water Supply Of 31 Out Of 35 U.S. Cities
The Environmental Working Group (EWG) has released a report which indicates that the tap water in 31 out of 35 cities contains hexavalent chromium, a known carcinogen or cancer-causing agent. This means that millions of residents in the U.S. are being exposed to the toxic chemical that was made famous in the 2000 movie “Erin Brockovich.”
Of the 35 cities whose tap water was tested, the highest concentrations were found in Honolulu (HI), Norman (OK), and Riverside (CA). Other heavily populated cities such as Chicago (IL), Los Angeles (CA), Miami (FL), and Phoenix (AZ) were also included in the list, according to news reports.
For many decades, hexavalent chromium was a widely used industrial chemical and has evidently leached its way into the water supply of 31 out of 35 cities that were tested throughout the US. Bethesda (MD) and Washington, D.C. were also on the list of cities where the chemical is showing up. […]
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Choking Hazard Causes American Eagle To Recall Toddler Girl’s Pants And Shorts
Clasp on the clothing can become detached and cause a choking hazard
According to Norwalkplus.com, clothing manufacturer American Eagle Outfitters has voluntarily recalled 1,200 pants and shorts for toddler girls due to the possibility of a choking hazard.
According to the Department of Consumer Protection, the Pittsburgh, PA-based clothing company and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced the voluntary recall of several different girls’ clothing items.
Included in the recall were a variety of styles of jeans, pants, and shorts that have a metal clasp mounted at the waistline of the items. It is possible that the clasp can become detached from the waistline of the item and pose a choking hazard for toddler girls. Consumers have been urged to stop dressing their children in these items immediately and return them to the retailer.
American Eagle sold the items through www.77kids.com and their retail stores during the months of July and August 2010. […]
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