Every single day, all of us will use dozens if not hundreds of products. Clothing, food, vehicles, prescription drugs, safety equipment, medical devices, appliances, toys, electronics, power tools – the list goes on and on. Products like these are supposed to help us accomplish tasks and protect ourselves from harm, not inflict injury or wrongful death. Negligent manufacturers who fail to meet state or federal safety standards must be held accountable for resulting injuries, fatalities, property damage, and emotional distress inflicted on trusting consumers.
If you or someone you love was seriously injured after using a malfunctioning or defective product as advertised, you may be entitled to compensation for your medical bills, pain, suffering, and other losses and expenses. The attorneys of Whitney, LLP can help. Our dedicated legal team brings years of knowledge and experience to each and every claim we handle, and we are prepared to fight aggressively in pursuit of maximum compensation on behalf of our clients.
We handle product liability claims arising throughout the state of Maryland, including but not limited to Baltimore, Carroll County, Anne Arundel County, Harford County, Howard County, Prince George’s County, and Montgomery County. To set up a free legal consultation, call our law offices at (410) 583-8000. We will keep your information confidential.
Types of Product Liability Claims Our Attorneys Handle
Product liability is an area of personal injury law which deals specifically with wrongful death and personal injury caused by products which do not function or perform the way they are supposed to. Virtually any type of consumer good you can imagine has the potential to become dangerous or even fatal if improperly stored, labeled, manufactured, or designed.
However, some of the more common goods and products involved in these types of personal injury claims tend to include:
- Baby Seats
- Evenflo High Chairs
- Beverages
- Cars and Car Parts
- Floor Mats
- GM Ignition Switches
- Seat Belts
- Takata Airbags
- Appliances and Electronic Devices
- Electric Blankets
- Toasters and Toaster Ovens
- Food
- Furniture
- Guardrails
- Helmets
- Bicycle Helmets
- Motorcycle Helmets
- Industrial Machinery and Equipment
- Medical Implants
- Cochlear Implants
- Hip Implants
- Pacemakers
- Transvaginal Mesh
- Prescription Medications
- Androgel
- Avandia
- Raptiva
- Yaz/Yasmin Birth Control
- Talcum Powder
- Toys
Depending on the type of product and the type of defect involve, injuries to consumers may include:
- Asphyxiation and Choking Hazards
- Bone Fractures/Broken Bones
- Burns
- Chemical
- Electrical
- Scald Burns
- Thermal
- Dismemberment
- Head Injuries
- Lethal Food Poisoning
- Paralysis
- Scarring and Disfigurement
- Slip and Fall Injuries
- Spinal Cord Injury (SCI)
- Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
Deaths and Injuries Caused by Malfunctioning and Defective Products
As noted above, there are many different ways a given product can become defective, resulting in harm to the consumer.
Improper storage is one of several issues which can affect various consumer products. Products are seldom if ever shipped the moment their assembly is completed by the manufacturer. In most cases, products remain in warehouse storage for a period of days, weeks, or months prior to being shipped to dealers, or directly to individual consumers. Even if it was designed and built correctly, a product can still degrade while sitting in storage due to issues related to humidity or temperature control.
The Takata airbag recall is a recent example of improper storage. More than 34 million domestic and imported vehicles have been recalled, because affected airbags have the potential to explode and spray injurious or deadly shrapnel and debris at drivers and other vehicle occupants. The issue was traced back to volatile propellant chemicals, which were improperly stored at Takata’s plant in Mexico.
Improper labeling – and in some cases, a complete lack of labeling – is another issue which can result in consumer death or injury. Products which have the potential to be dangerous, such as car seats or electronic appliances, must be clearly and prominently labeled with safety warnings alerting the consumer to potential risks and hazards. (Cigarettes are probably the most famous example.) If a dangerous product is not clearly labeled, the manufacturer may be liable. This is known as “failure to warn.”
Manufacturing defects are yet another safety problem. Manufacturing defects are accidental defects which occur while the product is being constructed and assembled. No matter how thoughtfully the product may have been designed, the blueprint’s practical safety ultimately depends on how the product is built.
Depending on the type of product involved, manufacturing defects can create products which crack, break, fall apart, overheat, shift unexpectedly, fail to turn off, or otherwise fail to respond to user input. If the product is meant to be ingested, such as food or medication, a manufacturing defect can lead to deadly poisoning.
Finally, product liability may involve defects in the product’s design. A famous example of a poor design is the 15-passenger van. Even when 15-passenger vans are assembled with the highest degree of skill and craftsmanship, they are still inherently dangerous because their very design is riddled with flaws which create safety hazards. High centers of gravity, tires which are difficult to properly inflate, and flat sides which are vulnerable to crosswinds all make 15-passenger vans notoriously susceptible to rollover accidents.
If you were injured by a defective product, or if one of your loved ones was hurt or wrongfully killed, you may be able to recover compensation. Call the law offices of Whitney, LLP at (410) 583-8000 to arrange for your free and private case evaluation.