In our modern consumer economy, we inevitably come into contact many times each day with products that were designed, manufactured, and sold by companies all across the globe. Unfortunately, many of these companies emphasize low cost of production, sacrificing safety. That puts consumers and their families in danger. Hundreds of thousands of people are killed or injured each year as the result of product defects.
Defective product cases fall primarily into three separate types: defective design, defects in manufacturing, and failure to warn or instruct. Many cases may involve more than one of these theories. At the Law Office of Robert S. Hogan, we are experienced at handling a variety of product cases, and understand the particular nuances of different kinds of product defect cases.
Many defective product cases involve legal issues that span the country or the globe. Almost as important as choosing the right law firm to handle a products case is selecting the right experts to analyze the product failure and help the jury to understand the mechanical and scientific principals involved. We work closely with experts in many different disciplines to break a case down into its fundamental building blocks, and then create a first-class presentation to instruct the jury and the court about the important aspects of the case.
Defective Product Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Doesn’t the government maintain federal safety standards for products?
A: Yes, the U.S. Government does have federal safety standards for some products. For example, automobiles, trucks, aircraft, medical devices and pharmaceuticals. However, in many cases the federal standards are based on information and technology that is several decades old, and the standards have not kept pace with modern technology. Federal standards are not always enough where industry standards call for far greater safety measures to be taken.
Q: Don’t manufacturers have safety standards and quality control programs to prevent injuries due to defective products.
A: In many cases, industrial safety standards and programs fall short because of incomplete research, design programs, or because of a lack of recalls once problems are discovered. Industries, unfortunately, have proven time and time again that financial concerns often outweigh safety concerns, and what is expedient and cost-effective takes the place of what is right. Firestone tires, Ford Explorer rollovers, Ford Mustang gas tank problems, and side-saddle gas tank explosions have all been examples of unfortunate decisions that were made at corporate levels to sacrifice safety because an unsafe path was more lucrative and cost-effective. Each of these instances mentioned resulted in needless injury and death to consumers of these products, before injured consumers and their families took legal action to take these dangerous products off the market.
And the problem is getting worse, not better. With the interglobalization of the world economy, more products are being imported from other nations that have not developed the same design and manufacturing standards that the United States has.
One of the many benefits of the civil justice system is that it gives consumers a voice, and legal action often results in manufacturers making changes to products to make them safer, because it finally supports a decision of cost effectiveness to make the product safer in order to avoid lawsuits.
Q: Should I take the defective product back to the store for a refund?
A: No!! This is only appropriate where you are certain that the product defect has not resulted in injury. Where there has been an injury, the defective product, its manuals and packaging may be important evidence of exactly what the defect was and how it caused the injury. Once these items are taken back to a store or sent back to a manufacturer, they are gone forever. That has a huge impact on your ability to seek any sort of civil remedy for the injury. The company may give you a refund for the product, but don’t count on any compensation for other damages, like medical bills or lost wages. The best course of action is to keep all parts of the product, including packaging, manuals, cords, etc. and take them to your attorney, so that they may be preserved as evidence, and examined by experts if necessary.
Q: I have heard that lawsuits are responsible for stupid warnings on products. Is that true?
A. Sometimes. In many cases, stupid senseless warnings on products that are circulated as part of internet lore are the result of fractured translation by foreign manufacturers. Sometimes they are just the result of hypersensitive companies, and sometimes they are required by industry or government regulation in our country or elsewhere. And sometimes they are the result of litigation. But for every case that resulted in a warning, be assured that a jury or judge somewhere, after listening to all of the evidence, believed that having such a warning, no matter how seemingly unnecessary, would prevent injuries in the future.
