4 Types of Defective Products that Might Lead to Personal Injury Claims
All types of consumer products can be defective and cause injuries to consumers. As a result, various defective products can lead to personal injury claims. However, some types of defective products result in personal injury claims more often than others.
Types of Defective Products
Here are four types of defective products that might cause injuries leading to personal injury or product liability claims.
- Defective Vehicles and Auto Parts
Many vehicles and auto parts have defects that ultimately can harm consumers. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) keeps track of all vehicle-related recalls and safety issues and helps make consumers aware of these defects. Some defective auto parts that have led to product liability claims in the past include:
These defective parts lead to accidents that cause severe injuries or fatalities to drivers and passengers in many cases. Anyone who suffers injuries due to defective auto parts may have product liability claims against the manufacturer, distributor, retailer, and other parties.
- Defective Children’s Products
Children’s products, from toys and games to cribs and car seats, often are the source of product defects and recalls. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issues recalls of children’s products and other consumer products when necessary. While many different children’s products can have defects that cause harm to infants and children, some products seem to have defects more than others, including:
- Baby products, such as car seats, cribs, high chairs, and infant carriers.
- Sleep products, such as crib bumpers, blankets, pillows, and sleep positioners.
- Toys and games.
- Children’s medications and bath products.
Children are prone to putting small objects in their mouths, so if objects easily detach from toys or games, they may choke. Likewise, crib bumpers or pillows may lead to suffocation. In addition, high chairs and car seats may have defects that cause them to be unsafe when you place children in them.
- Medications and Medical Devices
When you take medications or doctors recommend using specific medical devices, you expect those products to make you feel better. All too often, however, they end up being defective and harming patients instead of helping them. The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) regulates drugs and medical devices. Some medications and medical devices that have been defective in the past include:
- Pacemakers
- Contraceptives
- Anti-depressants
- Defibrillators
- Mobility devices
If drugs and medical devices are inherently dangerous, cause harmful side effects, or are poorly designed, injuries can occur that may form the basis for a product liability case.
- Food Products
The FDA also governs food products in the United States. Contamination during manufacturing, packaging, or distribution can lead to illness or even death when people consume contaminated food. Food products are usually not inherently defective but instead become defective between their production and sale to the customer.
For instance, the FDA recently recalled some lots of Similac, Alimentum, or Elecare powdered infant formulas, after reports of contaminated formula resulting in bacterial infections in some infants. The FDA also has found romaine lettuce and packaged salads to have led to food-related illnesses in some individuals. Other recent food investigations involved cantaloupes, spinach, onions, and seafood.
When Defective Products Cause You or a Loved One Injuries, We Can Help
Going through the legal process can be confusing and overwhelming, especially in the aftermath of suffering injuries from using a consumer product. However, a Phoenix product liability attorney at Gallagher & Kennedy, P.A. is here to help you through that process from beginning to end. Contact us by calling 602-530-8400 or reaching out to us online. Set up your free consultation with us today and learn how we can help.