Articles Tagged with San diego defective product attorney

Consumers in Escondido should always be able to assume that the products they purchase are safe for use. Yet, much too often, defects result in consumer injuries. In those instances, consumers may be eligible to file product defect lawsuits, also known as product liability lawsuits. What do you need to know about liability for injuries caused by product defects? Our Escondido product liability lawyers can give you the information you need.

Liability Will Depend on the Type of Defect

You will need to determine the party (or parties) liable for your product defect injury. It is essential to know that liability will depend upon the type of defect — whether the defect was a design defect, a manufacturing defect, or a marketing defect (also known as a failure to warn). Under California law, a designer of a product can be liable for a product that was defectively designed (meaning it could not be safe even with the best manufacturing and marketing). A manufacturer can be liable for a defect that occurs while the product is being made. And a marketer or retailer may be liable for marketing defects, or the failure to “warn of potential safety hazards” or to “include sufficient instructions” for safe use of the product.

Reading about a dangerous product recall in Encinitas that has resulted in hundreds or thousands of injuries can be scary, and you might be unsure about your rights as a consumer when it comes to defective products and product liability lawsuits. For example, you might be wondering about your eligibility to file a lawsuit, and if you are eligible, who can be held liable for your injuries. Our experienced Encinitas product defect lawyers want to provide you with more information.

Injury Must Result from a Defective Product to Have a Claim

Owning a product that has been subject to a recall is not enough to file a claim. In order to be eligible for compensation, you must have been injured by the defective product.

Anyone in Valley Center should feel confident making a consumer product purchase or picking up a prescription medication at the pharmacy without having to worry that the product has a serious defect and will cause severe or fatal injuries. However, defective products routinely cause consumer injuries in Southern California, and it can be difficult to know if you are buying a dangerous product or if you already own one unless a safety recall occurs or a serious injury results from use of the product. Our dedicated Valley Center personal injury lawyers want to tell you about common types of product defect claims across California. 

Products Commonly Subject to Safety Recalls

Nearly any type of product can have a defect and can be dangerous to consumers, but some types of products tend to be subject to safety recalls and to have particularly serious defects more often than others. Some examples of products commonly subject to safety recalls affecting consumers in Southern California:

hush-naidoo-382152-copy-300x200Patients in Vista and elsewhere in Southern California who have suffered injuries as a result of defective medical devices may have been the victims of an outdated medical device approval process. According to a recent article from Global Data Healthcare, patients across the U.S. received medical devices that ended up being dangerous for use and may not have been assessed as well as they could have been by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).  

Now, in response to a report on tens of thousands of deaths caused by dangerous medical devices, the FDA has plans to change the way it approves medical devices for patient use.

Investigative Report Exposes Tens of Thousands of Medical Device-Related Fatalities

imthaz-ahamed-156276-unsplash-copy-300x169Whether you live in Encinitas or another part of San Diego County, you should know about a bill that has been introduced in California to “prohibit settlement agreements that keep secret information about dangerous products and environmental hazards,” according to a recent article in the Sacramento Bee. The bill is not the first of its kind. To be sure, a number of other states have enacted similar laws to help ensure that consumers can have important information about hazardous products that could cause personal injuries. We want to provide some more information about the bill, and to give you an idea of how it could impact personal injury lawsuits in Southern California concerning product defects.

Confidential Settlements and Defective Products in California

Assemblyman Mark Stone introduced Assembly Bill 889, which is designed to prevent lawsuit settlements that are conditioned on information about defective products that could pose “a danger to public health and safety” being kept confidential. Currently, when consumers file lawsuits against manufacturers after being injured by a product with a safety defect, for example, the manufacturer can settle the lawsuit and require the consumer to agree to confidentiality. Often, such confidentiality is to ensure that a protective order issued by the court that “prevent[s] plaintiffs from disclosing information that they have learned and insist, as a condition of settling a lawsuit, that the parties remain silent about the matter.”

clark-young-403377-copy-300x200Consumers in Valley Center and throughout Southern California should be able to purchase products without worrying that a safety defect will cause serious or life-threatening injuries. However, product defects happen much more often than they should, and consumers often do not learn about recalls until other people have gotten hurt. According to a recent report in The Washington Post, a series of recent recalls highlights design and manufacturing flaws in a number of consumer products that could lead to serious personal injuries if consumers do not heed the recall information.

Defective Children’s Products and Child Injuries

A toddler bed has been subject to a recent recall after consumers reported that the bed “can collapse and entrap a child.” According to reports, The Land of Nod company’s “Nook” toddler beds have a faulty headboard and frame system. The recall notice indicates that the headboard can unexpectedly disconnect from the bed frame and can fall onto the bed, entrapping a child who is using the product. Currently, the company knows about four separate reports of the headboard disconnecting from the bedframe and falling onto the bed. Although no injuries have been reported, anyone in possession of one of these beds could be placing their children at risk of injuries.

joey-banks-380271-copy-300x200When product recalls happen in Oceanside, do most North County residents pay attention to these serious warnings? As many Californians know, products can be subject to recall when there is a serious safety defect that can result in serious and even fatal injuries. According to a recent survey conducted by SteriCycle Expert Solutions, while many people may in fact respond appropriately to news of a product recall, millennials “are the least likely among the U.S. population to say they respond positively to product recall notices.”

To be clear, young people who are often classified as millennials (typically those between the ages of 18-34) may be exposing themselves to more risk from product defects by avoiding recall notices.

Older Adults More Likely than Younger Adults to Comply with Product Recall Notices

kalu-ci-146209-300x200For many San Diego residents, the relatively recent and seemingly ever-expanding Takata air bag recall was a source of anxiety and frustration. As you may remember, the Takata air bags installed in dozens of different automobile makes and models ran the risk of exploding as a result of a defective inflator, causing severe and life-threatening shrapnel injuries, and some victims even died as a result of their injuries. Over the last several weeks, Takata news stories have largely focused on culpability for the Takata executives who may have known about the serious product defect yet did not take steps to remedy the issue before consumers got hurt. However, according to a recent article in CNET.com, there is a new Takata air bag safety issue that has prompted another recall.

What do you need to know about the new recall, and what should you do if you drive one of the affected vehicles?

New Takata-Sourced Air Bag Product Defect

Earlier this year, General Motors (GM) recalled nearly 3 million automobiles due to a very dangerous defective ignition switch.  The automaker has been in the news since early 2014, as new reports about fatal injuries continue to surface.  According to a recent article from NPR, more product recalls are on the way.  And indeed, based on a related story in Forbes, those recalls may continue through summer 2014.

Key in Ignition

The GM Recall Report

As a brief reminder, the GM recall affected a number of different models, and it concerned a faulty ignition switch.  The models affected include:

Contact Information