Get to know what Product
Liability Claims Entail and How Personal Injury Lawyers Can Help
We expect that the companies that
manufacture and sell products to Canadians are doing everything they can to
ensure that they are safe. With regard to products such as pharmaceuticals,
which carry an inherent risk, we expect that the manufacturers and sellers have
communicated these risks clearly. In addition, national and provincial
regulations exist to try to prevent faulty products from reaching consumers.
Yet each year, there are numerous products that are discovered to be unsafe,
and that are recalled from shelves. If you have any doubts about a product
you’ve purchased, you can find lists of recalled products and safety alerts on
the Canada Health site, here.
Currently there are thousands of recalls and advisories for products in
categories such as food, health products, consumer products, and vehicles.
Examples of these include:
·
A recall of boilers with mechanical
problems that can lead to carbon monoxide poisoning
·
Many recalls of hand sanitizer,
including one containing technical grade ethanol, plus advisories about hand
sanitizer sold in beverage containers
·
A recall of children’s
furniture due to high levels of lead
·
Advisories about medication due
to incomplete warnings on labels
·
A recall of cat food due to
e-coli contamination
·
A recall of caustic soda due to
non-child-proof containers
·
A recall of teething spoons
because they are a choking hazard
·
A recall of cosmetic concealer
due to mold contamination
·
A recall of remote control race
cars due to burn injury hazard
·
A recall of automotive glue
because label warnings were not bilingual
·
A recall of pistol holsters due
to injury hazard
·
A luxury automobile recalled
due to exploding airbags
Details of all Canadian auto recalls are
also listed here.
Media attention with regard to product liability is often focused on
pharmaceuticals or automobiles, but as you can tell, even a random sampling of
products listed on the government website reveals a wide variety of items that
received recalls or warnings because they pose a danger to the consumer.
Three of the largest product recalls
include:
·
Ford cruise control. Eight different
recalls over the course of ten years affected Ford vehicles fitted with
malfunctioning cruise control devices which overheated and caused fires, plus
sometimes affected brakes. The product caused multiple deaths and house fires.
·
Vioxx recall of 2004. The pain
medication was approved by the FDA in 1999, but Merck, the manufacturer, began
to see data that linked the pharmaceutical to heart damage and death shortly
afterward. Despite this, they continued selling Vioxx, making $2.5 billion in
sales in 2003. After the drug was forced off the market, the company ended up
paying almost $5 billion to settle claims regarding people who either died or
were injured by Vioxx.
·
Bridgestone/Firestone tire recall of 2000. 6.5 million tires were recalled due to treads that peeled off
during use. 46 deaths and more than 700 injuries were linked to the faulty
tires.
In each of these cases, the companies
involved faced class-action suits and ended up compensating victims. If you
have been injured by a faulty product, you may be entitled to receive
compensation.
Product
Liability Law
Whenever someone is injured by the use
of an unsafe or dangerous product, they may be eligible to file a personal
injury claim. In Canada, product liability law can be applied to manufacturers,
distributors, and sellers of the product. In a successful claim, the injured
party must show that the product had a defect, and that they were harmed as a
direct result of using the product. There are three
aspects for which manufacturers can be held liable. They are:
·
Negligence in Manufacturing. A product
may be dangerous due to errors in the manufacturing process (such as faulty
welding on a handrail,) a component being left out (such as brake pads on a
motorcycle,) or a foreign substance that is introduced accidentally (such as
metal shavings from factory machinery into a beverage.)
·
Negligence in Design. There may be a
design defect that the company failed to recognize, such as errors in
calculation about weight distribution in a vehicle, or a toy design that has
sharp edges.
·
Negligent Failure to Warn. When an
injury occurs because the consumer is not adequately warned about possible
dangers regarding the use of a product. In Canada, warnings need to be clearly
displayed in both official languages.
Under certain circumstances,
distributors and sellers of the product may also be held liable, as can
inspectors, installers/repairers, or product owners.
Personal
Injury Lawyers in Toronto
If you have suffered an injury due to a
product, consult with a personal injury lawyer. These lawyers are knowledgeable
about a number of different aspects, including the law, medicine, and the
insurance industry. They understand how to file an insurance claim or a lawsuit
so that you can receive compensation for your injuries. And personal injury
lawyers almost always work on a contingency basis, which means that you won’t
be charged an hourly rate; your lawyer will receive a percentage of any
settlement monies.
Contact a personal injury law firm today, and receive the
compensation you deserve.