Product Liability During the Holiday Season

Which Consumer Products Should You Be Wary of?

Virtually any product can cause injury . It is not always the obviously dangerous products – like power tools – which are involved in product liability lawsuits. In fact, it is often the most benign and common of products which catch a consumer off-guard when things go awry. Three of the more bizarre examples  over the last decade included inflatable exercise balls, hot coffee, and electronic toothbrushes.

If that surprises you, here is a list of categories of products which cause the most injuries resulting in product liability cases:

Toys: Not surprisingly, toys with small pieces which can break off are among the top product liability cases.  Hoverboards are a hot holiday gift which have notoriously malfunctioned and caused injury.

Personal Electronics: Electronics such as laptops and tablets have created fire risks and burns.

Appliances: Appliances can be improperly wired, causing danger of fire, electrical shock or even electrocution. Space heaters are known to be fire hazards.

Other categories of gifts which have generated product liability claims are clothing, furniture, and accessories for vehicles.

When Can You Sue for Product Liability?

Not every injury qualifies as one for which you can seek compensation.

If your child received a new bike for the holidays and fell off while learning to ride it, his injuries are not considered to be the manufacturers fault.  However, if the chain mechanism jammed because of a defect and your child fell off the bike, you may have a  valid claim for compensation.

Consumer injuries which are truly due to defective products typically fall into three categories.

Design Defect –  Sometimes the problem can be traced all the way back to poor design. If the manner in which the product was designed causes injury, the manufacturer is liable. Children’s toys often fall into this category.

Manufacturing Defect –  These defects happen in the production phase. They typically involve the utilization of dangerous materials to manufacture the product; or the process does not correctly produce the item according to design specifications.

Labeling Defect –  Many products have inherent risks associated with them, but they can still be sold if they properly warn the consumer of those risks. When manufacturers fail to properly communicate these risks to the consumer, they will likely be held liable if injury occurs.