Products liability is a subset of personal injury that involves defective and dangerous products. Our personal injury law firm has represented individuals and families for the harm they have suffered caused by hazardous products that were sold to consumers by negligent manufacturers. If you have been injured by a defective or dangerous consumer product and believe you may benefit from speaking to the best Stockton products liability lawyer, read on.  

Americans enjoy access to some of the most innovative products on the planet. Oversight by government agencies and consumer advocacy groups has resulted in confidence in the products we use regularly. Without conscious thought, we rely on proper design, adequate testing, and careful manufacturing procedures to keep us safe. 

Unfortunately, sometimes those systems fail, and due to negligence in one or more of those areas, a harmful product may be released to the public, causing injuries or even death. When that happens, the injured parties deserve justice and financial compensation for their damages.  

Despite efforts to keep the products on the American market safe, consumers are exposed to unsafe products regularly. Manufacturer defects can remain undetected until the product goes on to cause harm. The same is true with yet-to-be-discovered design flaws. California has comprehensive products liability laws designed to protect the public from harm caused by dangerous and/or defective products. 

Part of the job of an experienced products liability lawyer is to determine where in the supply chain the negligence occurred and what entity should be held responsible for the harm caused. There are usually many possible defendants involved in a products liability case. Potential defendants include:

• Component part manufacturers
• Assembling manufacturers
• Distributors
• Retail outlets
• Wholesalers

Manufacturers of defective or dangerous products could be held liable (legally responsible) for failing to warn the public of the dangers associated with using their products. Product manufacturers are legally obligated to provide clear warnings of potential hazards on product labeling or within included paperwork. 

If a defective or dangerous product causes harm to a consumer, some combination of the following types of liability could be the legal bases for a lawsuit:  

• Design Defect
• Manufacturing Defect
• Failure to Warn

While virtually all products have the potential to be defective, some are more prone to become dangerous due to a defect. Here are some of the most common product types associated with products liability lawsuits:

• Medications – prescription and/or over-the-counter – such as Zantac, Elmiron, and Metformin. These can have undisclosed side effects, be defectively manufactured, include incorrect or incomplete instructions, or not have the required warning labels.
• Medical Devices, such as the Paragard IUD or Allergan Breast Implants
• Tools and Machinery
• Harmful chemicals and/or pesticides such as Round-Up and Dicamba
• Tobacco
• Food Items
• Firearms
• Motor vehicles such as trucks, motorcycles, recreational vehicles, ATVs
• Auto accessories such as airbags, seatbelts, tires, and car seats/booster seats
• Household appliances – may overheat, causing a fire
• Children’s toys – there are many cases of toys presenting a choking hazard or having been made with dangerous paints or other chemicals
• Children’s furniture, such as cribs that come with asphyxiation or entrapment hazards
• Clothing / Apparel – choking danger or constructed with flammable material

Other defectively designed or manufactured products that could cause injury include the following:

• Tire jacks (see recent Harbor Freight recall)
• Electric heaters that create a fire hazard
• Defective step stools or ladders that make a fall risk
• Industrial equipment such as cranes, forklifts, or scaffolding, all of which, if defective, could cause catastrophic injuries

Sometimes, but certainly not always, dangerous and/or faulty products are recalled from the marketplace due to the discovery of significant danger associated with their use. Recently recalled products include:

• Zantac (recalled by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration)
• Takata airbags (manufacturer recall)
• Allergan Biocell textured breast implants (recalled by the FDA)
• Metformin (voluntarily recalled by several manufacturers)

In addition, it seems that there is a recall on food items sold at grocery stores every few months due to contamination with salmonella or E. Coli.

Below is a video from CBS reporting on the Takata airbag recall.

Many times, injuries caused by defective products are overlooked. The injured person may not immediately realize their injuries were caused by a defective item. This is often the case with defective or dangerous medications.