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Food Items: In this busy world people are buying large quantities of ready-to-eat foods from stores. Occasionally, some of these foods are contaminated. Food poisoning caused by the Salmonella bacteria is the main villain in this scenario. Fever, nausea, abdominal cramps, vomiting and diarrhea are the major symptoms of Salmonella attack. In January 2009, the FDA (Food and Drug Administration or USFDA) announced that people should avoid cookies; chocolates, cakes and other foods containing contaminated peanut butter to avoid a salmonella outbreak. As a result, some major producers recalled their products. For example, Kelloggs, Austin Quality Foods, Wal-Mart, Airborne, and many other manufacturers and retailers had to pull products off the shelves. Recently (October 2009) there was a recall of the Halloween Candy Sherwood brand Pirate’s Gold Milk Chocolate coins, as they contains melamine that had caused many infant deaths in China.
Consumer product: Consumer product defects are either design or manufacturing defects. Design defects are due to the faulty design of the product. Manufacturing defects happen in the manufacturing process.
Vehicles: Vehicle safety is very important. We cannot imagine running a car with a problem in the brake pedal. A vehicle with this kind of problem must be recalled urgently by the manufacturer itself. Toyota recalled 4 million cars because a mistake happened in the manufacturing process.
Medicines: Medicines are considered a life support material. The drug companies should avoid problems in the manufacturing of the medicines. As per the guideline of the Consumer Health Care Product Association, the medicines need to be safe and effective when it used as directed by the physicians. Yet some of the medicines may dangerous-- especially to children. The FDA has banned the production and distribution of some medicines used for cough and cold to children. PediaCare Infant Drops, Decongestant & Cough; Triaminic Infant & Toddler Thin Strips, Decongestant plus Cough; Robitussin Infant Cough DM Drops; etc. are some of the medicines which containing pseudoephedrine, which is the banned substance.
Baby products: Manufacturers must be very cautious in the production of baby products. The customer Product Safety Commission of Florida has reported four infant deaths from the use of defective simplicity baby sleepers. The CPSC has ordered a mandatory recall of this product to avoid the possible dangers. Most of the toys made in China are banned because of the threat of lead poisoning. Fisher Price had to take back one million plastic toys including the cartoon characters of Dora, Diego and Elmo. A ban on various China manufactured products (especially food items and toys) are adopted in various countries like Canada, Australia, US, India, etc. Consumers need to be fully aware of these problems.
Product Liability
Product liability is defined as the liability of any one or all parties along the chain of manufacturing of the goods, to compensate for injury caused by the defective products that was provided sold. The liability is not limited to the manufacturer only. It extends to whole marketing channel. This way, the consumer is provided with protection in three important aspects: physical protection, protection of the economic interest, and protection of the public interest. The consumer has the right to safety, right to be informed, the right to choose, and the right to be heard. The United States Department of Commerce has enacted a Model Uniform Products Liability Act for dealing with product liability issues. The public can visit the website (http://www.cpsc.gov) of the CPSC for getting the details of the latest product recalls.
Consumer Movement in the USA
In the 1950s, the consumer was not the king. He had no resources if he encountered dangerous products. Ralph Nader and the consumer protection movement of the sixties and seventies gave consumers a new energy against bad products. The movement started gathering momentum, and Nader paved the way for much legislation for the protection of consumers.
Product liability litigation
If a defective product causes death, the survivors can file litigation against the manufacturers (including wholesalers, sellers, and retailers) of the defective products. Litigation on product liability depends on the theories of negligence, strict liability and the breach of warranty. The defect of the product should be revealed through scientific examination and evaluation. The standards and norms given by the law in the state will also be taken into consideration while determining the quality of the product. Liability cannot be imposed on the producer for the unreasonable expectations of the petitioner. Injury happening from the misuse of the product also cannot come under the oversight of product liability. Since the manufacturers need to defend themselves in different states, this type of litigation is very expensive to them. Normally the survivor should file litigation with in two years from the date of occurrence of the incident.
Product Liability attorney
Different states have different laws regarding claims of product liability. The plaintiff may be able to file suit for damage awards on medical expenses, physical pain and suffering, loss of earning capacity, mental pain, and punitive damages. The cases concerning defective goods are very complex in nature. Only a specialized lawyer who is well-versed in the field of product liability litigation can help you to win maximum awards.
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