When you purchase a product, you probably presume that the product can be safely used for the purposes that you purchased the product. Unfortunately, more than twenty thousand consumers per year are killed by dangerous or defective products and almost 30 million people suffer injury because of defective products.
Unfortunately, more than twenty thousand consumers per year are killed by dangerous or defective products and almost 30 million people suffer injury because of defective products. Although many consumer products are subject to safety standards promulgated by the Consumer Protection Safety Administration (CPSC), sometimes product manufacturers fail to adhere to these safety regulations and standards.
This is an increasing problem as more products are being imported from China and other countries with lax safety standards. There are other situations where people are injured because recalls of consumer products are not implemented promptly.
Product liability law is the area of law that provides personal injury compensation to those who are injured by defective products. Our experienced NEPA product liability lawyers at Dougherty Leventhal & Price, LLP are committed to holding manufacturers accountable for shortcuts in the design or manufacturing of products that put profits above consumer safety. We work closely with engineers and industry experts to determine the most compelling litigation strategy for our clients who are injured by unsafe products.
When you are injured by a defective product, it is important to work closely with a law firm with extensive experience handling product liability lawsuits because these cases frequently involve litigation against large corporations with extensive litigation resources. Effective litigation of product liability cases also requires extensive understanding and experience with complex engineering and manufacturing processes.
When a product contains a defect that causes injury to a consumer, it can be difficult to determine the precise negligent conduct in the process of designing, manufacturing or marketing the product that caused the defect which resulted in injury. Because the process of designing, producing or retailing a product is beyond the influence or control of consumers, strict liability shifts the responsibility for defective products back to the entities associated with bringing the product to market.
Strict liability essentially allows a consumer to assert a product liability lawsuit without a requirement of proving specific negligent conduct that caused the particular defect. In product liability lawsuits based on strict liability, a consumer need only show that the product was in fact defective when it left the manufacturer’s control and that the product caused the consumer’s injuries.
There are some situations where the negligent conduct that led to a defect in a product can be proven. Those in the production and distribution network for a product are expected to exercise reasonable care to avoid injury to consumers caused by their product. The failure to exercise such care may be the basis for imposing liability in a product liability lawsuit. This negligence may be in the design specifications, manufacturing process, inspection of the product or the instructions and warnings regarding proper safe use of the product.
Warranties may be express warranties provided by the manufacturer or implied warranties imposed by the operation of law. Implied warranties include the warranty or merchantability that basically provides that a product is consistent with a consumer’s basic expectations and will function as expected when used the way it is normally intended. When the product violates either express or implied warranties and causes injury this may also be the basis for liability in a Pennsylvania product liability lawsuit. Sometimes this basis of liability can be difficult to assert because of disclaimers provided on the products packaging.
With this type of defect, the basic design of the product may be safe, but flaws occur in the actual manufacturing process, which make the product dangerous to consumers. This type of defect occurs because some or all units of the product deviate from the design specifications. While properly implemented inspection procedures may reveal this type of defect before it leaves the manufacturer’s control, the failure of quality control procedures to prevent unsafe products with this type of defect from leaving the control of the manufacturer may be the basis of a product liability lawsuit.
Some products may be dangerous when used in ways that are not intended but are foreseeable. A product manufacturer is expected to provide reasonable warnings and instructions regarding safe use of the product. If there is a foreseeable risk of misuse that may cause serious injury, a product manufacturer should warn consumers of this risk. An obvious example would be a toy that may pose a choking hazard to small children.
