Product liability law requires those selling and using products, such as manufacturers and installers, to use reasonable care on three fronts: product design, production, and use. Manufacturers of products must use reasonable care to make their products safe for use when the product is used as intended. Manufacturers are also strictly liable for injuries caused by a product that was safely designed but defectively manufactured. Installers can be liable if they install a product incorrectly and this results in injury.
Our Product Liability Cases
We have had many product liability cases in which we represented a consumer injured by a defective product in making a claim for damages against the manufacturer. A few of the successful product liability cases which we have handled are:
- A farm grain cart had an auger in the bottom of it that was not completely guarded, and a farm worker’s foot fell through the protective grate causing him to lose his leg.
- An automobile sliding seat had a retraction mechanism on it that operated like scissors, and it cut the fingers off of a consumer who was trying to move the seat.
- Tampons were defective because they did not have a warning label explaining how they should be used. If they are not changed often enough, they cause toxic shock syndrome, which could result in death.
- A vitrified grinding wheel sold to a farmer was defective in that it did not contain a warning to not grind on the side of the wheel instead of on the face of it.
- A resinoid grinding wheel was defectively manufactured in that it had a blow hole in it and developed a crack in ordinary use.
- The installer of an attic pull-down ladder had made a defective and dangerous installation, which subjected the installer, but not the manufacturer, to liability.
Manufacturer Responsibility
Today, a manufacturer is required to use reasonable care in the design of its products in order to make them safe for use, and the user of a defective product who is injured by it, is able to collect damages from the manufacturer. This seems completely reasonable; however, this is a relatively recent development in the law, around the 1950’s ─ 1960’s. Also, a manufacturer whose manufacturing process goes awry and creates a dangerous product is now not simply liable for negligence, it is strictly liable to the consumer, which means that the consumer does not need to prove negligence by the manufacturer.
In today’s world of large manufacturing corporations, it is just not fair to let them get away with manufacturing defective products. Requiring them to be responsible for injuries their products cause will motivate them to produce safer products.
Generally, if a product is unsafe when used as intended, because of negligent design, the manufacturer is liable. In other words, the manufacturer must make the product safe if it can. On the other hand, if the product cannot be made to do its job without it having some dangers, the design of the product must include warning of the dangers and tell the user how serious the danger may be, such as possibly causing loss of life.
Manufacturers are not liable for a product that injures someone if the injury was caused by misuse of the product, unless the misuse was foreseeable, and the manufacturer did not warn of it. For example, in the case of tampons causing toxic shock syndrome, they are no longer defective and dangerous because the packages contain a warning on how they are to be used and on the consequence of misuse, which is possible death.
Conclusion
The threat of lawsuits and having to pay damages for injuries caused by defective products has motivated manufacturers to make their products safe for their ordinary use. Despite this, injuries caused by products still happen. These product injury cases are more involved when it comes to establishing liability and negligence because they require testimony from expert witnesses. If you have been injured by a product, call us for a free consultation.
