Products Liability
Our product liability lawyers represent individuals who have been harmed by defective medical devices, dangerous drugs, hazardous materials, and other types of harmful products. Our attorneys handle these claims in all 50 states.
The term “product liability” generally refers to personal injury lawsuits by consumers against manufacturers of these harmful products, 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), pharmaceuticals, medical devices, other health products, and motor vehicles.
These claims can also extend to distributors, suppliers, and marketers of products that cause injury or death. We see in our law practice how devastating the harm can be when products are made or designed unsafely.
To recover damages in a product liability lawsuit, you need to show that the product was defective and that the defect caused the harm. If you or a loved one has been injured by a defective product, a product liability lawyer can help you determine what type of claim you have and how best to pursue it.
Product Liability Lawsuits Against Manufacturers
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 negligence 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:
- that the product was in a defective condition at the time it left the possession or control of the seller;
- that it was unreasonably dangerous to the user or consumer;
- that the defect was a cause of the injuries;
- that the product was expected to and did reach the consumer without substantial change in its condition.
Getting Help from a Product Liability Lawyer
Every year, thousands of people are killed by dangerous drugs, medical devices, or defective products that should not have been placed on 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.
Our product liability lawyers 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, and get information on a particular class action suit pending, call us at 800-553-8082 or click here for a free Internet consultation.
Defective Drug Cases
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 their drugs cause cancer or other adverse health conditions.
When the hidden danger of the drug becomes apparent it invariably leads to a wave of product liability lawsuits – often called mass tort litigation.
Examples of current mass torts involving dangerous drugs include:
- Tylenol Autism
- Elmiron
- Beovu Lawsuits
- Zantac Cancer
- Belviq Cancer Recall
- Xeljans Blood Clots
- Gilead HIV Drug Lawsuits
- Injectafer
Defective Products Cases
Our product defect lawyers handle medical device and drug injury product liability cases. But there are some product defect injury and wrongful death cases that do not fall neatly into those categories and they are some of the biggest mass torts in the country right now. They include these products:
- Hair Relaxers
- NEC Baby Formula Lawsuits
- Talcum Powder Lawsuits
- AFFF
- Combat Arms Ear Plugs (largest mass tort in U.S. history)
- Paraquat
- Roundup (settlements of $10 billion and counting, our lawyers very high on future lawsuits)
- Baby Food (autism from metal in food)
- Cartiva
- EzriCare
- Sunscreen
- Pressure Cookers
Medical Devices
Another common type of product liability case 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 seriously hurt or injured. Examples of medical device mass torts include:
- CPAP Machine Lawsuits (latest big class action)
- Camp Lejeune Lawsuit (even more recent new mass tort)
- Hernia Mesh (cases that have gone on interminably that will hopefully settle soon)
- Paragard (relatively new litigation that needs some discovery to find out how solid the claims might be)
- Exactech
- HPV Vaccine (Gardasil)