According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) statistics, dangerous (or defective) products cause nearly three million injuries and 22,000 deaths in the United States every year.
Many injuries can be avoided if proper steps are taken to ensure that anyone using a product is safe. Designers, manufacturers, and stores selling products for profit have an obligation to make their products safe for everyone to use. As a product liability lawyer based in Lancaster, Jaime Jackson Law helps people who have been harmed by dangerous products achieve the justice, accountability, and closure they deserve.
Creating consumer protection
Product liability is the legal term requiring businesses to take responsibility for the design, manufacture, or sale of unsafe or dangerous products, in other words, defective products. This, therefore, creates the concept of consumer protection, in other words, the idea that consumers should not be harmed by the products we buy and use.
Safety hierarchy
An item we use everyday may be unsafe or defective in design, manufacture, or by failing to provide proper warnings. The design safety hierarchy requires designers and manufacturers of products we use to:
- Identify and design out safety hazards;
- If the safety hazard cannot be designed out of the product, then guard against it;
- If the hazard cannot be designed out, or guarded against, then provide warnings.
Accountability and deterrence
The law in Pennsylvania requires that a product meet the “ordinary expectations of the consumer.” This means that the risks of the product should not outweigh the benefits of its use. Simply put, products must be safe for us to use and not be unreasonably dangerous. When a dangerous product hurts or kills someone, the manufacturer must be held accountable. In turn, this deters the design and sale of unsafe products, and protects consumers by promoting the design and sale of safe products.
Jaime Jackson Law is a top product liability lawyer based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. If you or a loved one have been harmed by a dangerous or defective product, contact us for help.
What is products liability?
Product liability is the legal term that requires businesses to take responsibility for the design, manufacture, or sale of unsafe or dangerous products, in other words, defective products. This, therefore, creates the concept of consumer protection, in other words, the idea that consumers should not be harmed by the products we buy and use.
Items we use everyday may be unsafe or defective in design, manufacture, or by failing to provide proper warnings.
The design safety hierarchy requires designers and manufacturers of products we use to:
- Identify and design out safety hazards;
- If the safety hazard cannot be designed out of the product, then guard against it;
- If the hazard cannot be designed out, or guarded against, then provide warnings.
Accountability and deterrence
The law in Pennsylvania requires that a product meet the “ordinary expectations of the consumer.” This means that the risks of the product should not outweigh its benefits. Simply put, products must be safe for us to use and not be unreasonably dangerous. When a dangerous product hurts or kills someone, the manufacturer must be held accountable. This deters the manufacture from the design and sale of unsafe products, and also promotes the design and sale of safe products.
What are some common products liability claims?
Design defects occur in a product during the design phase, before the product is even manufactured.
Manufacturing defects occur during a product’s manufacture or assembly.
Failure to warn of a product that is unavoidably unsafe to use. Manufacturers and suppliers must properly warn about the dangers of using their products. This means that consumers can make informed decisions and take proper precautions when using a product.
Who is responsible for a defective product?
Designers, manufacturers, distributors, importers, and sellers who sell products for profit have an obligation to the public to make and sell products that are safe for us to use.
Do we need to preserve or keep the product that injured us or a loved one?
Yes. It is important to keep the product that caused the injury so that it can be properly examined by experts.