Product Liability

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.

More information about Product Liability

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), […]

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, […]

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.

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. […]

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. […]

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. The man’s attorney filed a motion for an “additur” with the judge which was granted and raised the award another $900,000. […]

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. […]

Graco Drop Side Cribs Recalled Due to Entrapment and Suffocation Hazards

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and LaJobi announced a voluntary recall of 217,000 Graco®-branded drop side cribs. The recall includes Graco drop side wood cribs sold throughout the United States from February 2007 through March 2010. Owners of these cribs should stop using any of the recalled products immediately.

When a product is not safe and fails to contain an adequate warning, and you or a family member suffers personal injury, or death, as a result of these defects, you may be entitled to legal relief. You should be able to trust that the product you are using is safe and that you have been given proper warning of any risks the product poses. At Munley, Munley & Cartwright we understand the complexity of product liability laws and the challenge of proving a case, and we can help you get the compensation you deserve.

The recall has been made due to the hazards posed to an infant or toddler in the crib if the drop side hardware breaks or fails resulting in the drop side detaching from the crib. […]

Family of City Worker Killed In Mower Accident Settles Lawsuit

A confidential last-minute settlement has been reached in the lawsuit brought by the family of a city Parks Department employee who was killed in 2003 by a runaway lawnmower, reports the Telegram & Gazette of Worcester, Mass.

Industrial and agricultural accidents can occur for a variety of reasons. One of the leading causes, however, is a manufacturing or design defect that makes heavy machinery dangerous to users. You should be able to trust that the product you are using is safe and that you have been given proper warning of any risks the product poses. At Munley Law we understand the complexity of product liability laws and the challenge of proving a case, and we can help you get the compensation you deserve.

The 54-year-old man died from injuries he sustained when he was run over by a 6,000 lb. large capacity mower as it rolled down a hill. […]

Wisconsin Court Rules In Favor of Medtronic In Product Liability Case

The Wisconsin Supreme Court, following a U.S. Supreme Court decision, has ruled patients cannot sue the maker of a potentially unsafe medical device approved for sale by the FDA.

A suit was brought against Minneapolis-based Medtronic, Inc. by a man who had his defibrillator surgically removed after the company warned its battery could fail. The defibrillator was implanted in 2004 to try to prevent his heart from stopping.

The next year, Medtronic warned the devices’ batteries might fail in 1 out of 10,000 patients. The company knew of the problem more than two years earlier but kept selling the defective defibrillator, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune. The FDA did not order a recall nor did it withdraw its 2002 approval.

The Wisconsin decision was not unanimous. Two of the justices warned, “the decision leaves Wisconsin residents at the mercy of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, […]