Product Liability

By Melissa Neiman -

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) is one of the country’s oldest consumer protection agencies. The FDA’s purpose is to promote and protect the public’s health by trying to ensure that safe and effective products reach the market; to monitor products for continued safety after they are in use; and to help the public get accurate, science-based information regarding health issues.
The Center for Devices and Radiological Health (“CDRH”), a division of the FDA, must approve a medical device before it can be marketed to the general public.  The CDRH is responsible for testing and approving every medical device to ensure that it is both safe and effective.  The CDRH may discover a defect that prevents approval.  If the device is approved and a defect is then discovered, the FDA may request a voluntary recall by the manufacturer or issue a recall if the manufacturer refuses to comply.

Injury or loss may be caused by a medical device.  An individual person who has been injured using a medical device may be able to sue the manufacturer, wholesaler, company or person that sold the product for damages. A lawsuit can be brought against any person or company that was involved in producing or distributing the medical device.  There are three main categories in which evidence can be shown to prove a device is defective:

•    Design defect-There is a flaw in the conceptual design of the device.

•    Manufacturing defect-There is a specific defect which occurs during the manufacture of the device.

•    Warning defect-The device is not accompanied by adequate or reasonable warning or there has been a failure to educate the consumer at to potential and latent dangers regarding the device.

In some cases, the manufacturer of a medical device will clearly inform the physician community about the risks of a device and it then becomes the obligation of the physician to communicate those risks to the patient.

These cases are subject to a statute of limitations which is the fixed period of time in which a person must file a claim.  The statute of limitations usually begins when the patient’s illness or injury is discovered, rather than when the injury happened.
If a manufacturer, wholesaler or company that produced or sold the device is found at fault, a court can order them to pay damages.  Depending on the state where the injury occurred, the following damages may be allowable:

•    Economic damages: Compensation for monetary losses such as past and future medical expenses, loss of past and future earnings, loss of employment or business opportunities.

•    Non-economic damages: Compensation for subjective, non-monetary losses such as pain, suffering, inconvenience, emotional distress, loss of society and companionship, loss of consortium, and loss of enjoyment of life.

•    Punitive damages: Damages awarded for the purpose of punishing a party for intentional or reckless behavior or actions motivated by malice.

Melissa Neiman, M.D., J.D. http://www.mneiman.com

PROFESSIONAL PROFILE:

I am a Board certified neurosurgeon and licensed attorney authorized to practice medicine and law in Texas.  During my fourteen year private practice of neurosurgery I was involved in medical malpractice litigation as a consultant, case reviewer, and expert witness.  As a result of that experience I decided to become an attorney.  Since completing law school I have been practicing law and using my medical background in numerous areas including, inter alia, medical malpractice and healthcare fraud.  My combined medical and legal experience places me in a unique position to offer a wide range of medical-legal consultation to a variety of clients.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Melissa_Neiman

Tips For Filing a Liability Lawsuit

By Bella Holly -

A Los Angeles liability lawyer can assist you with any liability problems that you may have. In most cases whenever people hear the term liability, they often times think of it as referring to car insurance. When in all actuality liability pertains to the state of being legally responsible for a particular event.

A Los Angeles liability lawyer will usually handle cases that involve a person who has sustained an injury either through a faulty or mislabeled product or hazardous property.

Product liability is the liability of a product that a manufacturer has to a consumer. To make things a little easier to comprehend, a product liability lawsuit would occur in the case that a product was faulty or malfunctioned. For instance, if you were using a blow dryer and it electrocuted you, this would be means for a product liability lawsuit. The manufacturer, sold a faulty product to you the consumer, and they are liable for any damages that product may have caused.

Premises liability is a little trickier then product liability. Premises liability deals with someone’s dwelling or land that they have sole ownership for. According to the laws pertaining to premise liability, if anyone is injured or something occurs on your land, the person that owns the land is held liable for whatever ailments they may have caused another individual.

It is very easy for a [http://www.losangelesliabilitylawyers.com]Los Angeles liability case to become complex, particularly when it comes time to gather evidence of the occurrence. Witnesses, security camera recordings, and photographs of the injury and the premises that caused the accident are just a few of the things that could prove useful in supporting your case.

We are all only human, therefore we are generally understanding when an accident occurs, but that doesn’t mean that the victim should be left footing medical bills, lost wages, and future treatment expenses when the fault truly lies with another person or company. If you believe you may have been injured through a faulty product or premises, please speak with a Los Angeles attorney as soon as possible.

You can find a Los Angeles liability lawyer through a detailed search on Google or a similar website. Take care in choosing your lawyer and make sure that you do a background check on any candidates you consider.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bella_Holly

3 Most Common Types of Product Liability Insurance Claims

By Gemma-Leigh Garner -

Product liability insurance is very necessary for all businesses to carry today. There are three types of potential product defects that allow for consumer-backed product liability lawsuits to enter into the court system:

1. Manufacturing defects. This type of defect occurs when a manufacturer attempts to make a safe product that becomes flawed while going through the manufacturing process. Example: An important screw is missing.

2. Design defects. This type of defect occurs when the product is created correctly by a manufacturer who is selling unsafe products to the public. The manufacturer is often unaware that his products are unsafe. Example: A battery operated toy with a locking battery compartment that can still allow leaking batteries to drip acid onto children through the cracks around the battery door.

3. Information defects. This type of defect occurs when a product is unavoidably dangerous in some manner and there are no written communications about this danger included with the product to warn consumers about the possible harms. Example from a real product: “Caution! Iron gets hot.”

When a consumer gets hurt, they are allowed to blame each business from the manufacturer through the one with the minimum-wage sales girls down on Main Street for the damages that they are suffering through After all, somebody along the way really should have thought of yelling: “Caution! Iron gets hot!” to save the consumer from getting injured unnecessarily.

Today, every business that handles or supplies any type of product that is going to a consumer needs to have a form of product liability insurance. This includes everybody from the Mom and Pop shops on eBay through the big name product manufacturers. It is a sad fact today that all businesses can be sued if a product that they are making or manufacturing, distributing, refurbishing, or selling injures an unsuspecting consumer.

Not long ago, we were all treated to a chuckle while reading about the hamburger-king McDonalds getting sued over a cup of coffee that was not wearing a warning label that it was in fact a hot liquid. While reading, millions of us thought about the time that our morning cups of coffee splashed us on the way to work, and wondered what the court system would do with that lawsuit. That consumer won their lawsuit.

Today, nothing being made, manufactured, distributed, refurbished, or sold is guaranteed to be safe from a product liability lawsuit. Product liability insurance covers the costs of defending yourself in court if a consumer names your business as a defendant in a lawsuit. Various types of product liability insurance policies exist for businesses, and the amount of coverage on each policy is different. It is always better to be safe than sorry in today’s sue-happy world.

Gemma-Leigh Garner is a freelance copywriter that writes on many different insurance topics such as product liability insurance and helping manufacturers & retailers deal with product liability protection plus other related topics.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gemma-Leigh_Garner

Product and Premises Liability Claims

By Bella Holly -

Every day, millions of Americans leave their homes and go to work, shopping centers, banks and grocery stores. They do this with the belief that the places they visit will take care of them while they are visiting. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case. When you have been harmed due to someone else’s wrongful negligence, you need the help of a Houston liability lawyer.

This kind of a liability case is called “premises liability.” If you have sustained any type of injury from inadequately maintained premises, you are strongly urged to contact a Houston attorney as soon as possible. Not only is it important that you seek recompense for yourself, but you will be playing a major role in ensuring that the property owner does not inadvertently harm someone else.

If you have recently purchased a product that malfunctioned or was improperly packaged and you were injured, you are protected under product liability law. Manufacturers are responsible for the goods they package and sell to you. When they produce faulty goods or incorrectly package their merchandise, you can sustain life threatening injuries. Don’t let another day pass without contacting a liability lawyer.

If you have been injured either through the fault of a neglectful property owner or a faulty product, you should consider filing a Houston liability case as soon as possible. Many people do not realize that while the law does have provisions for protecting victims of accidental injury, it also sets a specific time frame in which you must claim. If you wait too long, you may not be eligible to file your claim.

Don’t get victimized twice by the same people. Contact your [http://www.houstonliabilitylawyer.com]Houston liability lawyer today and win back the respect and award that you justly deserve. Don’t speak to a lawyer or insurance adjuster without your liability lawyer present. Once you make a statement to either one, you can lose your rights to settle. Contact your liability lawyer today and get your life back on track.

A Houston liability case can be difficult to claim if you aren’t able to obtain enough evidence. Therefore, if you have suffered, please contact a lawyer immediately. If you are unable to do so right after the accident, try to keep all of the details fresh by copying down the incident on paper, taking pictures of your injury and the property or product which caused the accident, and obtain written statements from witnesses.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bella_Holly

Understanding Product and Premises Liability

By Bella Holly -

When a company develops a product, they have to make sure that the product conforms to certain standards, and if there are risks of using the product, it must be printed plainly and visibly on the outer packaging. When a company fails in the design, production, or packaging of a product, this can result in the consumer sustaining injury, which the company is liable for. This is where hiring a San Antonio liability lawyer come in handy. The lawyer can make sure that the company has to pay for any medical treatments that were required, but also for any work wages lost due to the injury, and possibly even mental and physical suffering.

Another kind of liability suit is for premises liability. Most lawyers who deal with product liability, also deal with premises liability. Occupiers of rented premises and land owners have a responsibility to keep their premises safe. Particularly if the business they operate entails people visiting the premises. It is a legal responsibility and for example if you operate a supermarket in a rented building, and you fail to warn of a danger to the public, you can be held liable for any injuries to that member of public. Some of the most common premises liability claims are for trips, slips and falls in supermarkets or other stores.

When claiming on the basis of product liability, there are three parties (the designer, manufacturer and supplier) that may be held liable. If the product is defective and a person is injured or killed because of its use a liability suit can be pursued. There is a very broad spectrum of claims that may be instituted in circumstance like these, which is why it can make the process much easier to simply hire a San Antonio attorney to advise you of the matter.

There are some circumstance when we may feel like the fault was ours, such as using a product in a way you know it wasn’t intended for, but there are also circumstances that could prove fatal and need to be addressed. Say a person was to buy their eight month-old baby a toy, and the paint used on this toy contained a lethal amount of lead. This is not only grounds for a recall of the product, but it could cost thousands of babies their lives because the manufacturer didn’t use the proper paint for a child’s toy.

Just know that the choice to pursue a San Antonio liability case is totally up to you-but you have to think in terms of others. What happened to you might have been a one-off accident, but what if it was something that a company does on a daily basis. Not reporting a company could result in many other people being injured. It’s up to you to decide. http://www.sanantonioliabilitylawyer.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bella_Holly

Before You File a Liability Lawsuit

By Bella Holly -

There are unfortunate times when you might have an accident or be faced with a suit or even when a person close to you would have been injured or sick because of a defective product. This is where a Phoenix liability lawyer or a product liability lawyer comes in. You need to know exactly who to choose when you are in a position when you need a really good lawyer.

Product liability is applied to situations where a person is harmed by a product which a designer, manufacturer, or supplier is at fault for creating either a faulty product, one that does not fulfill the manufacturer’s promise, or one in which the packaging does not contain the proper caution labels. This happens much more often than one might think. Maybe even you have experienced harm through a product recently? If so, you should search for a Phoenix lawyer who specializes in product liability.

You might at times might have to file for a Phoenix premises liability suit and for that you will need a premises liability lawyer. A lawyer who deals in such cases peruses instances in which you or a member of your family was injured on the premises of a business owner or someone’s home. Now this is a bit hard to do but sometimes you might have to sue a person such as a fried for not taking proper safety precautions at their workplace or their home. It is not wrong if you seek compensation for the time you spend in the hospital which you would otherwise be spending at work.

Before you can actually file and win a suit you need to hire a lawyer. There are many to choose from but choosing the best one is imperative. Lawsuits cot lots of money and if you lose your case you could end up losing a great deal of money.

One of the best places to locate a Phoenix liability lawyer is to look on the Internet. A simple search on Google or a similar search engine will yield plenty of results for you to choose from.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bella_Holly

Distinguishing the Difference Between Product Liability and Premises Liability

By Bella Holly -

Ordinarily, when we buy a product at the store, we trust that the manufacturer is providing a safe, legitimate product. But have you noticed that some products contain a warning message on the outside of the packaging? Sometimes a warning such as “could cause choking” may seem a little funny to us, especially if it’s an item that doesn’t typically go near the mouth; but the reality is that someone has likely suffered from choking due to that product and has complained that the company should state the product’s hazard. There are laws in place to protect the consumer in case of injury due to a product’s malformation or to the company’s neglect in production. If you have suffered from a similar circumstance recently, you may require the help of a San Diego liability lawyer.

It is not only product liability which needs to be considered, there is premises liability also. This is a legal responsibility which all landowners or occupiers of property have to adhere to. In other words if you are a store owner and you do not warn customers that the floor is wet, they slip and fall, your insurance has to cover their injuries in terms of your premises liability cover. Trips, slips and falls are some of the most common liability claims, but if a person is injured due to the failure of another party to warn them of the hazard, it is their right to make a claim.

With product liability the designer, manufacturer and supplier can all be held liable for injuries caused by defective product. This encompasses a far broader spectrum of failures than you might actually believe. To eliminate any confusion, a San Diego attorney can help you decide which type to file for.

For example faulty ladders can collapse, chairs can break, car gas tanks may explode, car roofs crumple rather than protect. Tools, toys, pharmaceuticals, household products and appliances, in fact anything that has been manufactured! Failure of these has on occasions has caused serious injuries, illness and even death.

A liability lawsuit can be based off of a number of things. The main causes of a liability claim are negligence in a premises or product’s creation, failing to fulfill the warranty offered for a product, a defection resulting from manufacture, and failing to place a caution or warning label on the packaging. All of these are a justifiable means to file a San Diego liability claim and should be pursued as soon as possible after the incident has occurred, as there is a time limit on the amount of time that can pass between the injury and the claim. http://www.sandiegoliabilitylawyer.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bella_Holly

Worried About Business Or Product Liability? Here Are Some Tips!

By Bella Holly -

If you work or operate a business in the Chicago area, chances are good that one day you will need the services of a Chicago liability attorney. Finding an attorney to handle liability issues is not always easy, but there are a few tricks you can try. The first step is to determine the type of liability attorney you will need. You may require the services of a Chicago product liability attorney or a Chicago premises liability attorney.

A product liability attorney generally works with cases that arise from a claim of injury due to poor design or misrepresentation of a product. The need for this type of attorney can be pointed up by a landmark case in which the McDonald’s corporation was sued by a woman who was burned by a cup of coffee and won because the package labeling did not indicate that the product was hot and that burns were possible.

A good Chicago product liability attorney can help you to design your packaging to include any necessary warnings in order to head off any potential liability that could arise from poorly labeled product packages.

A Chicago premises liability attorney will usually be sought out if a person has sustained an injury at your place of business. An example would be to say that a man walks into your store, where the floor was freshly mopped, and falls, injuring his knee. Because there was no “wet floor” caution sign posted, you could be sued-and lose.

Despite everyone’s best efforts, there will still be instances when the services of a Chicago liability lawyer will be needed. One can be found through recommendations of fellow business owners, searching the yellow pages of the phone book, or by searching online. Use keywords that include the type of liability attorney you are looking for to narrow the search. http://www.chicagoliabilityattorney.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bella_Holly

Why Initial Investigation is Crucial in Product Liability Cases

By Carla C. Ballatan -

Cases involving defective or damaged products are crucially won or lost during the few days, right after the accident caused by the product happened. This is the time when conducting a preliminary investigation need to be initiated.

Proceeding with an initial investigation is as important as conducting one, itself. The results of such investigation will be very significant material in increasing the chances of success in favor of the victim.

Valuable suggestions in conducting an immediate investigation after a defective product accident:

1.    Top priority must be dedicated on calling on an attorney who is known in the legal community of the particular state where the incident happened, to be of expertise in handling products liability claims and litigation.  The products liability attorney can be expected to make sure, unfailingly, that all of the evidence needed is taken and preserved.

2.    Keep in mind that the damaged or defective product must be kept as soon as possible. If you are going to deal with a wrecked car, it being the damaged or defective product, then by all means do not fear or hesitate with the decision of buying it. Do not fret about the expense since a wrecked car may cost cheaper than you would expect.

If your product liability claim becomes successful, its cost would be nothing compared to the amount you will be receiving. You can also sell it to interested junkyards after it has been used during the case proceedings.

However, if you lost the wreck, then the important evidence contained might well be lost forever. Along with this is the credibility of your product liability claim.

3.    Once you become the owner of the damaged or defective product, keep it in a safe place. You may have it locked up in a facility that you have complete control. Do not assume that no one will be interested with it.

Especially if your case concerns a wrecked car, make sure that you have kept in a place where nobody can mess with it while you are away. Major car manufacturers are usually updated of road accident news. If there were a slightest hint of them being charged with product liability claims, they make an effort to also secure proper evidence that will effectively repudiate the plaintiffs’ claims.

4.    If it turns out, that you cannot purchase the product, then you need to make a little effort to get the attention of everyone involved that they should take every conceivable action to preserve the essential evidence. Warn them that they may be sued for failure to preserve the evidence or allowing it to be ruined.

5.    If the defective product happens to be in the control or custody of another party or among the expected defendants, it is strategic to file straightaway, an independent legal action calling for preliminary injunction or temporary restraining order. Doing this may help largely in preventing any alterations on the defective product or subjecting in to a destructive testing.

The TRO must be thoroughly drafted so that anyone who receives a notice of such order and happens to be in possession of the product will be mandated to hand the product over to a neutral person who will immediately conduct preventive measures against any damage while the article was in transit.

6.    Gather fundamental background data regarding the product.

7.    Purchase a product similar to the defective or damaged one for testing later on. The results from these tests may be used at trial. Make sure to buy exemplar article at the very beginning of the case so that you can be sure that it would be the exact copy.  It can be an important dividend later on when the defendant explains that the original plans of the product are no longer in existence due to a program of corporate destruction.

This explanation from the defendant’s side will not matter anymore if you have your own exemplar, even if you do not possess the primary plan.

Know more information about product liability claims through the Los Angeles Personal Injury Lawyers website.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Carla_C._Ballatan

Possible Case: UPDATE 1: Caraco Digoxin Recall

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