Long Island Defective Product Lawyer
As consumers, we have no way of knowing whether the product we are about to use is safe. We trust that the manufacturer designed and built a safe product, with adequate testing and quality control in place to make sure defective products don’t make it out of the factory and onto store shelves. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. The U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission issues hundreds of product safety recalls every year, recalling millions of units of consumer products. Millions of vehicles get recalled annually as well, with serious defects that could cause a crash or fail to protect occupants in an auto accident as they should.
Despite voluntary and forced recalls, thousands of people are injured every year, and dozens die from product defects. Giuffré Law Offices is prepared to take on the biggest companies and corporations and hold them accountable for releasing defective products onto the market that cause real harm. If you’ve been hurt by a product defect in New York City, a Long Island defective product lawyer at Giuffré Law Offices is here to help.
Manufacturers are strictly liable for product defects
The safety of a product lies entirely within the control of the manufacturer. The materials they use, the employees they hire and train, the testing they conduct or don’t conduct, and other factors all dictate whether the company will produce a safe product or not. Because the manufacturer has this exclusive control over a product’s safety, they can be held strictly liable for injuries caused by defective products. Strict liability means that you don’t have to prove the manufacturer was negligent. You only have to prove that a product was defective when it left their control, and that defect resulted in a personal injury or wrongful death.
Categories of product defects
Product defects generally fall into one of three types: design defects, manufacturing defects, and failure to warn.
Design defects – Examples of design defects include children’s furniture which can tip over onto the child, irons, space heaters or power tools which don’t include automatic safety shut-offs, or children’s toys with small parts that can be swallowed or present choking hazards.
Manufacturing defects – Manufacturing defects include the use of substandard materials that cause a product to fail at a critical moment, such as laptop batteries that overheat and explode. A problem on the assembly line can cause otherwise safe products to be made defectively. A manufacturing defect might only affect one or a handful of units, or it might impact thousands.
Failure to warn – Products that have safety issues need to come with adequate warnings and instructions for their safe use. For instance, some products should only be used in ventilated areas, should not be mixed with other products, or should only be used with personal protective equipment like gloves, masks or protective eyewear. Warnings should be clear, easy to understand, and printed on exterior packaging, printed materials, and the product itself, as appropriate. Products with missing or inadequate warnings or instructions can be considered defective.
Auto defects are especially prevalent
A defect in an automobile can be especially dangerous, as an automotive failure can cause severe injury or death not just to the user but to everyone in the car and others on the road as well. Automotive defects abound, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issues dozens of recalls every month on motor vehicles, child safety seats, tires and other equipment. The Takata airbag recall alone has impacted tens of millions of cars and represents the most massive product recall in the history of the United States.
Some of the most prominent and serious auto safety recalls in recent years have included:
- Defective airbags where the metal canister housing the propellant explodes on impact, sending metal shards and shrapnel flying through the interior cabin of the car
- Defective seat belts that fail to restrain passengers, allowing them to be ejected through the windshield
- Tire tread separation
- Sudden engine failure
- Brake failure
- Vehicles designed with the fuel line running alongside electrical wires, causing explosions in otherwise minor auto accidents
- SUVs designed with a high center of gravity and narrow wheelbase, causing severe rollover accidents and fatal roof crushes when roofs are not adequately reinforced
- Vehicles that suddenly accelerate for no known reason
- Defective floor mats that get stuck under the brake pedal, preventing the ability to stop
When injured victims have banded together and brought class-action lawsuits against automakers for serious defects, it sometimes comes to light that the car companies were well-aware of their design or manufacturing defects and the injuries they were causing, yet auto executives made the calculated decision to litigate lawsuits rather than spend a few dollars per vehicle to fix the problem and make their autos safe. Personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits are sometimes the only way to get the attention of carmakers and force them to change their ways.
Help with Product Defect Injuries in Nassau County, Long Island and New York City
If you’ve been harmed by a defective production Nassau County, Long Island or New York City, call Giuffré Law Offices in Stewart Manor, Brooklyn or Queens. We offer a free consultation to understand what happened to you and advise you on how we can help. Call 516-802-9912.
