Products Liability and Defective Design Lawyer

Our product liability lawyers represent individuals who have been harmed by defective medical devices, dangerous drugs, hazardous materials and other types of harmful products.

The term “product liability” generally refers to personal injury lawsuits by consumers against manufacturers of these harmful product, drugs, and devices. A “product” can be almost any type of manufactured object or device, but product liability lawsuits usually involve chemicals and commercial materials (e.g., asbestos), consumer goods, pharmaceuticals, medical devices and other health products, and motor vehicles.

Product manufacturers have a moral and legal responsibility to consumers to make and distribute products that are as safe as they reasonably can be. When a company fails to meet this standard and makes a product that is defective and dangerous, consumers have a legal right to sue the seller and manufacturer. Product liability or defective product cases are generally premised on one of three types of tort claims:

• negligence
• breach of warranty
• strict liability in tort.

(1) Negligence
Products cases sounding in negligence are simple: the failure to do what an ordinary, reasonable manufacturer should have done. Breach of warranty is a contract action. Strict liability in tort is a remedy designed to remedy the unfair results that occurred when injury victims were limited to negligence or breach of warranty claims for injuries caused by defective and unreasonably dangerous products.

(2) Strict Liability
Strict liability does not mean that you can automatically recover if you are injured by a product. You still must prove that the product was defective. But it does mean that you do not need to prove any particular act of negligence on the part of the seller. Instead, your lawyer must simply prove that the product was defective and unreasonably dangerous at the time it left the control of the seller. Accordingly, to recover compensatory damages under a strict liability theory in Maryland, the plaintiffs' lawyers must prove:

1. that the product was in a defective condition at the time it left the possession or control of the seller;
2. that it was unreasonably dangerous to the user or consumer;
3. that the defect was a cause of the injuries;
4. that the product was expected to and did reach the consumer without substantial change in its condition.

Every year, thousands of people are killed by dangerous drugs, medical devices or defective products that should not have been placed in the market because they were not safe. If you or someone you love has been killed or injured using a drug or product, our product defect lawyers will investigate the product. We determine whether it caused you injury as the result of a design defect, manufacturing defect, or marketing defect (usually involving failure to provide an adequate warning or some other improper labeling). In most cases, we have already done the necessary investigation because most product liability cases our lawyers have seen before.

The attorneys at Miller & Zois have years of experience handling product liability cases on both sides of the aisle. We take both individual and class action lawsuits. If you want to discuss your case with one of our attorneys, get information on a particular class action suit pending, call us at 800-553-8082 or click here for a free Internet consultation.

The common type of product liability cases in the U.S. are those involving defective and dangerous prescription drugs (and sometimes over-the-counter drugs). The pharmaceutical industry has a long history of rushing new drugs onto the market only to find out later they their drugs cause cancer or other adverse health conditions. When the hidden danger of the drug becomes apparently it invariably leads to a wave of product liability lawsuits – often called mass tort litigation. Examples of current mass torts involving dangerous drugs include:

• Beovu Lawsuits
• Zantac Cancer
• Elmiron Vison Loss
• Belviq Cancer Recall
• Xeljans Blood Clots
• Gilead HIV Drug Lawsuits
• Valsartan

Another common type of product liability cases are those involving defective medical devices. Just like other products and devices, medical devices don’t always work correctly or have hidden design flaws that cause them to malfunction. When things go wrong with medical devices, however, people get serious hurt or injured. Examples of medical device mass torts include:

• Talcum Powder Lawsuits
• 3T Heater Cooler
• Bair Hugger
• Vaginal Sling Litigation Update
• Why Vaginal Slings Failed
• Avaulta
• Mentor OB Tape
• Mirena IUD

All sorts of other products and materials can also have hidden health dangers or cause injuries that eventually lead to mass tort product liability lawsuits. Examples of these include:

• Combat Arms Ear Plugs
• AFFF Firefighting Foam
• Juul Vaping
• Ethicon Hernia Mesh
• Baby Food (autism)

• Cancer from Zantac
• Combat Arms Ear Plugs
• AFFF Lawsuits
• Juul Vaping
• Ethicon Hernia Mesh
• Cancer from Power Morcellator
• Xarelto Lawsuits
• IVC Filter
• Cancer from Roundup Pesticide
• Pradaxa Lawsuits
• Benicar Chronic Diarrhea
• Viagra Melanoma
• Lipitor Injury Claims Update
• GranuFlo and NaturaLyte Dialysis Injury Lawsuits
• Mirena IUD Complications
• Januvia Lawsuits (pancreatitis claims)
• Byetta Pancreatic Injuries (update)
• NuvaRing Lawsuits
• Hip Implant Lawyer (overview of cases and discussion of possible settlement)
• Knee Replacement Lawsuits
  • Smith & Nephew
  • Zimmer
• Product Liability Interrogatories
• Roundup Cancer Lawsuit