Product Liability
In this blog I’ll be reviewing another type of case Barber Medical Legal Nurse Consulting, LLC has the expertise to assist with. Product Liability is a claim brought for personal injury, death, or property damage caused by the manufacture, construction, design, formulation, preparation, assembly, installation, testing, warnings, instructions, marketing, packaging, or labeling of any product.
3 major types of product liability claims:
- Manufacturing defect: occurs in manufacturing and usually involves poor-quality materials or workmanship;
- Design defect: occurs when the product design is inherently dangerous, and fails expectations on what is a safe product, whereby its risks outweigh its benefits; and
- Failure-to-warn (marketing) defect: occurs in products that carry inherent non-obvious dangers which could be mitigated through adequate warnings to the user, and these dangers are present regardless of how well it is manufactured.
In the event a company fails to disclose warnings about the possible health hazards or when it tries to minimize the dangers, public health can be in jeopardy from defective materials.
Examples of medical devices and drug related products liability cases include:
Celebrex ®, hormone therapy, birth control pills, Vioxx ®, Ephedrine, Oxycontin ®, Botox ®, Fosamax ®, hip implants (all metal), implantable defibrillators, and ventilators.
Examples of non-medical device products liability cases include: Machinery and equipment, children’s toys, cigarettes and lighters, motor vehicles, automobiles, and automobile parts, food, household products, and personal care products.
What is the role of Barber Medical Legal Nurse Consulting, LLC in a product liability case?
- Case screening / assess case for merit
- Assess injuries, damages, and prognosis / life care planning
- Evaluate causation
- Summarize and translate authoritative literature to attorney, and legal team
- Educate attorney, and legal team
- Evaluate validity, and reliability of research from opposing side
- Report writing
- Develop chronological timeline
- Development of evidence to assist with deposition and/or trial
- Identify and review tangible items
- Interview client witnesses
- Identify and locate testifying experts
P.S. Comment and respond if you have experience with product liability cases