Products liability is an area of personal injury law that deals with injuries sustained by the use of dangerous or defective products. Central to the concept of products liability is the concept that manufacturers, distributors and resellers have a responsibility to deliver products free from defect and to make good faith efforts to assume that responsibility if their products are found to be defective. The term "products" in this sense covers a wide range of categories, including:

• Machinery and tools
• Pharmaceutical products, such as Rezulin, Fen-Phen, Baycol, Vioxx, Celebrex, Bextra, Aleve, Bendectin, DES, Thalidomide, Accutane, Phentermine, Parlodel, Phenylpropanolamine, Oxycontin, Pyridostigmine Bromide and other prescription and non-prescription drugs
• Medical devices
• Food and tobacco products
• Toxic chemicals or substances, such as pesticides, asbestos and mold
• Firearms
• Motor vehicles including cars, trucks and motorcycles
• Automobile accessories such as tires, seat belts, airbags and child car seats
• Household products and appliances
• Toys and recreational equipment
• Clothing and apparel

The key to attributing liability in a product liability case lies in determining whether or not a product is defective. When making a decision, courts may take into account several factors, including the purpose for which the product was designed, representation of the product to the consumer (i.e. adequate safety warnings), the utility or usefulness of a product compared to its risk of use, the safety standards of comparable products in the marketplace, the probability of an accident occurring given regular, reasonable use of the product and the expected useful lifetime of the product.

In pursuing a product liability case, a plaintiff generally must show that a manufacturer had a duty to provide a safe product, that the manufacturer breached that duty through defective design or manufacture of a product, and that the injury sustained was a direct result of the defect.

Wilson Kehoe and Winingham has worked extensively in the area of product liability and has tried or settled many cases over the last 20 years, both as an individual firm and as part of larger class-action lawsuits. If you've had an incident with a product that caused an injury, or are a survivor of someone who may have died from the use of or exposure to a dangerous or defective product, we would like to discuss your situation.

Contact us online or call us at 800-525-8028 to set up a free consultation to discuss your legal options.