All types of consumer products can give rise to products liability lawsuits if their design, manufacture, or a failure to warn causes injury. Beyond dangerous drugs, defective medical devices, toxic chemicals, food, automobiles, and other goods people buy and use everyday can sometimes cause injuries for which manufacturers, retailers, and parties along the supply chain can be held liable. Product liability lawsuits differ from most types of personal injury claims. Instead of concentrating on the defendants treatment of the specific plaintiff, they involve proving that the manufacturer, retailer, distributor or supplier produced or mishandled a product either inherently unsafe, unsafe due to mishandling or contamination after production, or unsafe due to a lack of proper instruction or warning to consumers about risks associated with the product. This section provides overviews of various consumer products that have been the subject of product liability lawsuits.
Smoking Injuries and Your Legal Rights
If you or a loved one experienced smoking-related injuries, you may be entitled to compensation for current and future expenses, in addition to special legal damages. Some of the legal factors that an attorney can review with you include whether you and your loved ones may be entitled to compensation for current and future medical and treatment expenses; if you and your loved ones can recover lost wages from work, and other out-of-pocket expenses stemming from smoking-related injuries; and whether smoking injuries may entitle you and your loved ones to recover damages for pain and suffering.
Brass Knuckles and the Law
Are brass knuckles legal? States in the U.S. have differing views on this question. Some states only ban metallic knuckles, while others ban hardened knuckles of any kind. Materials used to make hardened knuckles include brass, steel, hard plastics, and acrylic. Although the possession of a pair of brass knuckles is generally a misdemeanor crime in states where they are against the law, using brass knuckles in a violent crime can lead to felony charges.
Hookah Pipes and Water Pipe Smoking Injuries
According to the U.S. Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention Hookah smokers are at risk for the same kinds of cancers and other diseases as those that are caused by cigarette and cigar smoking, including oral cancer, lung cancer, stomach cancer, cancer of the esophagus, reduced lung function, and decreased fertility. It can also lead to the spread of tuberculosis and hepatitis.
Product Liability and Guns
Defective and unreasonably dangerous products can cause serious injuries to adults and children alike. No one uses a product expecting it to break or fail; when a product's defect becomes apparent, it can take the user by surprise. Products liability cases involving weapons have been successful where the injury is alleged to have occurred due to a true malfunction of the weapon or due to inadequate warnings relating to an unexpectedly dangerous quality of the weapon.
How a Products Liability Attorney Can Help
Scores of product liability, wrongful death, and personal injury lawsuits have been filed by victims and their families against companies that manufacture dangerous consumer products. If you or a loved one has suffered an illness or injury that might be caused by a dangerous product, you should first contact your doctor or other healthcare professional. Once you’ve spoken with your doctor, you may also want to consult with a product liability lawyer in order to learn more about obtaining compensation for your injuries.
