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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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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$1.7 Million Judgment Against Johnson & Johnson Following Injury Due To Drug
Failure to warn patients about potential tendon damage due to drug use leads to lawsuit
A Minneapolis jury has awarded an 82-year-old man $1.1 million in punitive damages and $630,000 in compensatory damages against Johnson & Johnson for failing to warn patients its antibiotic, Levaquin, may cause tendon damage, reports the Star Tribune.
The case in U.S. District Court is the first of thousands of lawsuits filed nationwide by patients who claim tendon injuries after taking Levaquin. This man was an active golfer and a mall-walker before rupturing or partially rupturing both Achilles tendons after taking Levaquin and a steroid for bronchitis five years ago – unaware of the risks with the drug combination.
The lawsuit was filed in 2008 against Johnson & Johnson and its Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals unit for failing to warn doctors and patients of Levaquin’s potential for tendon damage. […]
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New Jersey Man Receives $2 Million in Yamaha Snowmobile Accident
The Daily Record reports a Sparta man will receive $2 million from Yamaha following a snowmobile accident. The judge added $900,000 to the $1.1 million award from the jury.
In February of 2005, when the now 61-year-old man borrowed his friend’s 1995 Yamaha VX600V-R snowmobile, the engine started to hesitate. While he and another friend lifted the rear of the snowmobile, the owner revved the engine with the throttle in an effort to clear the spark plugs. The metal track broke and shot out of the rear of the snowmobile and ripped through the victim’s right leg.
Efforts to save the 75 percent severed leg were not successful, and the man’s leg was amputated above the knee a few days after the accident.
In the product liability trial, the jury awarded $1,107,000 for pain and suffering, economic losses, and medical expenses. […]
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Escalator Injury Involving Crocs Leads to Multimillion-Dollar Lawsuit
According to Knoxnews.com, the father of a 4-year-old girl whose foot was mangled in an escalator because she was wearing the popular shoe by Crocs, Inc. has settled his multimillion-dollar lawsuit against the company.
In 2006, the Colorado-based company began receiving complaints from parents over the rubber shoes and related escalator injuries. Studies have shown Crocs and their imitators “appear to be prone to entrapment when pressed against the (side) skirt guard of step riser while standing on the yellow line of an escalator.” Children are at greater risk because their shoes are smaller and thinner.
To the lawsuit was attached a letter by Crocs stating it intended to place warning tags on its shoes by Christmas 2006. It didn’t. Since that time there have been hundreds of accidents which may have been avoided had the warning been put on the shoes.
Injuries range from a bloody sock to severed toes. […]
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