Defective Products and Product Liability

Millions of serious injuries occur and thousands of lives are lost each year due to defective products. Injuries, fatalities, and property damage caused by the design and manufacture of defective products cost Americans in excess of $500 billion each year.

Those who manufacture, market, sell and install products have the responsibility to inform customers about any risks inherent in the use of their products. The existence of warning labels on manufactured products is often evidence in itself that someone has been injured by using this product in the past.

For the following reasons it is important to respond quickly in the event of injury suffered due to use of a defective product:

• Gathering evidence is a time-consuming process that is best done immediately following the injury while defective products which contributed to the injury or directly caused the injury are in the same condition that they were at the time the injury occurred.
• Statutes of Limitations in the State of New York place time restrictions on filing of suits and claims.
• Testimony of those who witnessed the injury occurring is most dependable as recently as possible after the injury-causing event.

Defective product liability cases may involve the following issues:

• Defects caused by the manufacturing process
• Design defects or improper design
• Improper packaging or canning/packaging under unsafe, unsanitary conditions
• No warning provided of potential harm or injury
• Distribution of food products tainted with e-coli bacteria
• Defects in equipment, medical, professional, etc.

According to an article in the New York Times, a company called The Glove Corporation located in Arkansas sold the New York City Fire Department nearly one million dollars’ worth of fire-retardant gloves. The company’s gloves had been tested in a pilot program in 2009 and had received the highest rating over three other glove manufacturing company competitors.

Approximately 6,500 NYC firefighters of the 11,500-member fire fighting force were outfitted with the defective model of the glove which underwent a change in the material inside the lining of the gloves. At least six NYC firefighters were injured with second-degree burns on the backs of their hands after fighting fires in Brooklyn and the Bronx after suffering hand burns as a result of this defective batch of gloves. The gloves were called Blaze Fighters. They failed to adequately protect firefighters’ hands. Fire commanders are now in a hurry to replace the defective gloves.

The maker of the gloves, The Glove Corporation, had merely issued an advisory on January 14^th of 2011, stating that the company had received reports about hand burns suffered while wearing “a few pairs” of this particular model of glove. Recently the manufacturer notified its employees and others that it was closing the plant in Heber Springs, Arkansas where the defective gloves were manufactured. Supervisors summoned employees and told them that the doors were closing and that they no longer had jobs. Company spokespersons said that the failure in the glove was proving to be more than the company could overcome and that costs associated with rectifying the defects in the gloves would make The Glove Corporation insolvent.

A complete list was not available to Al Baker who composed the New York Times article, but fire department officials in New York City did report that they had been contacted by other firefighters in Ohio who had used the same batch of gloves with similar incidents reported. One firefighter and training officer in the Baroda Fire Department in Michigan said that he had recently suffered burns to the back of his hands while wearing the Blaze Fighter gloves during training exercises. The manufacturer now admits that the gloves are not in compliance with national standards for heat resistance.

In another New York Times article published in January, 2011, titled “Consumer Agency Tightens Scrutiny of Baby Sleep Products,” Andrew Martin reported that the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) had initially ignored findings that the padding wrapped around the inside of a baby’s crib was killing infants. However, the CPSC decided to reverse itself and do further investigation into crib bumpers as part of a broader crackdown on hazards of other baby sleep products blamed for injuries and deaths.

In September of 2010, the Consumer Products Safety Commission along with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned parents against using sleep positioners which were intended to keep babies on their backs during sleep.

In October, similar warnings were issued to parents about the dangers of baby monitor cords, urging parents to keep the cords away from cribs.

In December, 2010, the first mandatory standards for crib design were approved by the commission. Day-care providers will be required to replace cribs which do not comply with the new accepted standards over the next two years.

More than ten million baby cribs have been recalled since 2007. Inez Tenenbaum, who was named by President Obama in 2009 as chair of the Consumer Products Commission, said that the commission had made the safety of baby sleep products a top priority. She called the campaign the Safe Sleep Campaign.

• Consumer product cases
• Harmful drug cases
• Cases involving defective medical devices such as hip implants
• Motor vehicle accidents caused by defects in automobiles and trucks such as malfunctioning or defective parts—accelerator pedals, for example
• Defective machinery or products in the workplace which may lead to construction site injury or death

Contact the New York Personal Injury Attorneys at Schwartzapfel Partners P.C.

We have offices to serve you in Manhattan, Bronx, and White Plains, New York, as well as Jericho and Garden City, Long Island.

We will fight for you!

Call us at (877) 398-6079 or fill out our online contact form.

These Hubs are provided for informational purposes only and should not be considered legal advice. Professional legal counsel should be sought for specific advice relevant to your circumstances.