You’ve heard on the news about countless products being pulled from store shelves due to contamination, poisons, or dangers to adults and children. Americans have a responsibility to fight back against unsafe products. As a consumer, you have the right to purchase products that you can count on and will keep you safe. A product recall lawsuit can help you gain compensation for your injuries and send a clear message to careless manufacturers who put innocent consumers’ lives in danger.
Recalled products can cause death, injury or serious illness. Unsafe products cause an estimated 27,000 deaths and countless accidents and injuries every year. In the United States, the number of product recalls has grown almost 85% per year since 1990.
More than a third of product recalls each year involve recalled toys and baby products. Parents should not have to worry that the products they are using around their children could potentially harm them. During 2006, toy accidents accounted for more than 220,000 injuries treated in hospital rooms.
2 Types of Liability
In a product recall lawsuit, the main point of discussion is on whether the product is actually defective, and then the next step is to determine who is at fault. There are two main types of liability:
- When a product has a defect in its design or manufacture. A defect is an imperfection or fault which makes using the product as it was intended unsafe. An example of this is when a car is designed in a way that is unsafe, such as in the late 1960s and early 1970s when Ford Pintos exploded after crashes due to poor design. Unfortunately for consumers, defects can happen during any and all stages of a product’s life — poor design, unsafe materials used to build it, untrue advertising, inaccurate labeling, unclear instructions.
- The failure to provide warning about the dangers of the product. For example, if a ladder is designed to hold a maximum of 200 pounds and it has no caution label or written instructions or other warning about the weight limit, and a 300-pound person gets on the ladder and it collapses, then that could be a failure to warn by the manufacturer.
Who is the Defendant in a Product Recall Case?
The defendant in a product recall case is not necessarily one person or company. It may be the:
- designer or developer
- manufacturer
- supplier
- distributor
- marketer or advertiser
- seller
- repairer.
Additionally, if a case goes to trial, an expert witness likely will be required to prove that the product was actually defective. An expert witness may be able to show that there was a defect in the manufacturing process, an error in design, or failure to provide warning about the dangers of the product. This is an area where an experienced product recall lawyer can answer your questions in detail.
If you have been injured by a product that has been recalled, remember these tips:
- Of course, seek medical treatment as quickly as possible. An emergency room physician or your personal doctor can prepare a treatment plan for you.
- Make notes about how the injury occurred. The more information you can give us, the better able we are to help you.
- Keep the product if you believe it has caused an injury. If a lawsuit is brought against a manufacturer or distributor, it is necessary to prove that the product caused the injury. The product is needed to help prove it was dangerous and how it caused the injury. An injury alone does not prove that a product was defective.
- Store the product in a safe place until your claim is resolved. If you do not have anywhere to keep the product, your attorney can probably help you find someplace.
- If you do not have the product, contact Carr & Carr Attorneys because we may be able to acquire a similar product for you. The sooner you talk with us, the sooner we start to help you. This is especially true if a product was recently recalled.
If you or someone you care about has been hurt by a product that has recently been recalled, there is no reason why you should suffer. Here at Carr & Carr, we are dedicated to making sure that you do not become a victim of someone else’s negligence. For your free consultation please contact us today via email or at our offices in Tulsa, Oklahoma City and Northwest Arkansas.
