Strict Liability in Defective Products

Product recalls are often initiated by manufacturers when a defect is found on the product which could result in potential harm and injury to the consumers. Manufacturers often remedy this situation by pulling out the defective from the market and try to repair or substitute the defective parts in it.

Take the case of the recent report on the impending recall of Ford Mustangs and Volkswagen Jettas, which were all under investigators for some defects. The investigation, which involved about 26,000 vehicles for Mustangs and 40,000 for Jettas, was conducted after consumers filed complaints against the two car models for possible defects in them.

Based on the complaints, 2011 and 2012 Ford Mustang models have problems shifting gears on cars with manual transmission while Jettas have possible leakages from its fuel line to the fuel injector.

When a defective product has caused injuries or harm to a consumer, the injured victim can file a product liability claim to recover his losses. Under strict liability, the manufacturers and sellers of a defective product can be held liable for the victim’s injuries, even without showing that the manufacturer or seller was actually negligent.

To be able to file a claim for damages, the victim must only show that the following conditions exist:

1. That the product had an unreasonably dangerous defect that injured the consumer and the defect was caused by the design, during manufacture or during handling and shipment
2. That the defect caused an injury while it was used in the way it was intended to be used
3. That the product was not changed or altered from the condition it was originally sold

To help you file a product liability claim for injuries incurred from using a defective product, consult with our experienced Los Angeles personal injury attorneys. Call us at 1-866-772-2889 or email us at info@mesriani.com for a free case analysis.

Beef Possibly Contaminated by E. Coli Recalled

Food manufacturing companies are expected to produce quality foods that are safe eating to eat. Product recalls may be initiated if it was proven that the company has failed to fulfill such duty.

About 864,000 pounds of ground beef, possibly affected by E. coli, were recently recalled by a southern California meat-packing firm.

According to the Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Services, there were no reported illnesses from the pound beef sold by Montebello based Huntington Meat Packing Inc., under the Huntington, El Rancho, and Imperial Meat Co. brands.

The contaminated beef was already sold to restaurants, hotels, and distribution centers in California between Jan. 5 and Jan. 15, 2010 and Feb. 19 and May 15, 2008.

Reports said that department personnel noticed the problem while a food safety assessment is being conducted.

If the department did not discover the problem and the infected beef was made available for public consumption, people may suddenly suffer from dehydration, bloody diarrhea, or even kidney failure due to the deadly germ that the food might be contaminated with.

All food manufacturers should carefully do their job because they may be held liable if someone acquired an illness after eating a contaminated food produced by them. In addition, being extremely careful while manufacturing a certain kind of product, not limited to foods, will save the company from different legal problems that may be brought by product recalls.