Product Liability Attorneys

Product liability is a specific kind of personal injury case dealing with harm or injuries to consumers from defective or unsafe products. There is a legal obligation for manufacturers, distributors and sellers to provide safe products in the marketplace. There are no federal regulations or laws governing product liability. The states themselves have laws in place that determine how product liability is handled.

Each party in the chain of manufacturing can be held legally accountable for defective products with which they’ve been involved if the products caused harm. This chain includes the maker of the parts or the item, the assembly company, the wholesaler and the seller. To name a seller in a product liability lawsuit, the seller had to have sold a product to a consumer who was then injured by the product. The item had to be defective upon sale, and the defect had to be the main cause of the consumer’s injury.

Back in 2002, a revamping took place of the guidelines for product safety labels and signs. The organization tasked with maintaining regulations for these items is the American National Standards Institute, or ANSI. The group heavily amended its rules to make warning signs and labels give more detailed explanations, illustrate risks with pictures, and be easier to read. The ANSI determined that warning labels need to:

• Warn of existing hazards
• Inform of the risk severity connected to a product
• Inform of the hazard’s effects
• Inform how to avoid a hazard

A warning needs to be extremely visible and placed as close as possible to the hazard. A label should be effective in the typical setting of the product and with the product’s life expectancy in mind, so the label will not fade. A multi-level, color-coded set of words have been selected by ANSI to help alert consumers to the severity level of individual hazards. The three danger warnings are as follows:

“Danger” is red – This means a hazardous event is impending and will lead to serious injury or death.

“Warning” is orange – This means a condition is potentially hazardous and could end in critical injury or death.

“Caution” is yellow – This means a condition is potentially hazardous and could result in moderate or slight injury.

The requirements are that one of the above keywords, plus the hazard’s description, must be placed onto a background that is square and white to enhance visibility. Below the keyword is the description section. There must be 2 panels in this section, with one for a symbol or graphic (e.g. a red circle with a slash through it) and the other for a message giving information about the hazard.

For a victim’s attorney to determine whether the warning label was adequate, the following questions will need to be answered:

• Did it seem likely that the product would cause harm?
• Was the product being utilized for its intended use?
• How severe was the harm?
• What knowledge level did the manufacturer assume the user would have? (The required level of warning changes as the product’s level of complexity increases.)
• Was the label relying on the user to have at least a certain level of knowledge and experience?
• Was the warning clear enough and simple enough to understand?

While every case has its own specifics, potentially liable parties are manufacturers, wholesalers and/or retailers. Naming a defendant in a product liability claim can become extremely complex, depending on the specific case details. The entities in the chain of distribution for the defective product may all be held liable as well.

Manufacturer – The manufacturer of a defective product might be a large international corporation, a small-time businessman running a shop in his garage, or any other entity connected with designing or marketing the product. If the product itself consists of various different parts, any manufacturer of any defective individual part can be named in the lawsuit, along with the manufacturer of the whole entire product.

Wholesaler – Generally, the wholesaler is the middleman working between the retailer and the manufacturer. A wholesaler may have individual salespeople who visit retailers to arrange and place orders for the product.

Retailer – When an item is advertised for sale by a retailer, the implication is that the product is suitable for use and is safe. If a customer is injured by a defective product, the seller can be held liable even without any participation in the manufacturing process. Facts concerning a claim against a retailer:

• Plaintiff didn’t have to personally buy the defective product
• Plaintiff didn’t have to personally use the defective product
• Plaintiff may be able to recover damages for a used (not new) defective product (depending on state laws, the nature of the defect and the product)

A considerable part of the litigation process during product liability claims often involves dealing with the insurance company that may be representing the manufacturer and defendant. It is common for an insurance assessor to be dispatched by the insurance provider to help determine the level of injury and to perhaps talk with the victim about a settlement.

It is very important to remember that insurance company representatives do not have the victim’s interests or needs in mind. First and foremost they are employees of the insurance company and are trained to obtain sensitive information about the victim and their injury. All of which the insurance company can and will use against the injured party in a court of law.

Employing the services of a product liability lawyer will assist in answering the questions that the insurance companies will ask or provide direct correspondence with the insurance company through the firm.