Products Liability
Dangerous and defective products result in thousands of serious injuries and deaths every year. Virtually no type of product or industry is immune from these potential hazards.
Children hurt by dangerous toys, passengers killed as the result of defectively designed automobiles, workers maimed by defective machines or tools, patients debilitated by risky medications that drug companies rush to market -- these are just a few examples of the harm everyday products can pose to health and safety.
A manufacturer may be responsible for harm caused by its product under several different theories. First, the product may have been defectively designed. Frequently, manufacturers introduce such products into the market to save costs, when safer alternative designs are available.
Second, a product may be unreasonably dangerous because the manufacturer failed to provide adequate instructions or warnings as to its use.
Finally, a product may be defective as the result of a manufacturing flaw. This may occur if the manufacturer fails to produce the product in accordance with the product's plans, specifications and design.
Jackson & McGee has a wealth of experience in representing individuals injured or killed by defective products. Some examples of the cases we have handled include:
- A major manufacturer's defective design of a fuel system on a truck, resulting in an avoidable post-collision fuel-fed fire, in which the driver died;
- Defective design of a jet ski, causing a young woman serious and permanent injuries;
- Defective design and inadequate warnings for cords attached to miniblinds, resulting in the strangulation of an 18-month old boy;
- Industrial equipment with inadequate warnings, causing serious personal injury to workers;
- Employees who develop occupational diseases after exposure to toxic substances in the workplace; and
- Defective and misleading flight instructional materials for private aircraft, resulting in a crash which rendered the young pilot a paraplegic.
Prosecuting product liability cases is usually an expensive, complex and challenging undertaking. In many cases, several experts from different disciplines must be retained. Defendant manufacturers typically contest liability vigorously.
We have the background, experience and resources to properly evaluate potential cases against manufacturers. We have established relationships with product experts in a wide range of specialties. In some cases, it is advantageous for us to associate other lawyers who have extensive experience pursuing claims against a particular manufacturer or industry. Such lawyers may have spent years litigating cases involving a single product. Our relationship with leading lawyers around the country, and our extensive involvement in national bar organizations, helps us to identify such expertise in appropriate situations.
If you or a family member have been injured by a defective product, it is very important to ensure that the product is not lost or destroyed, for it may serve as essential evidence in your case. If you lack access to the product, contact us immediately so that we may initiate appropriate steps to ensure that the product is neither altered nor destroyed.
We stand ready to assist you in evaluating your potential claims involving defective products.