When a manufacturer creates a product, they have the responsibility to ensure that the product cannot harm users during normal use of the product. This requires not only the use of a safe design but quality testing of the prototype and then the finished products before they reach store shelves. This responsibility is known as product liability. It holds manufacturers liable for any damages that result from injuries suffered while using their poorly-designed or defective products.
What is Product Liability?
As discussed above, product liability is the duty that manufacturers of consumer products have to ensure that their products are safe when used correctly. With products that have the potential to cause injuries, such as coffee machines and power tools, manufacturers must adequately warn users of injury risks and include instructions for the safe use of their products. If a manufacturer does not take appropriate care to prevent injuries, the manufacturer may be found negligent and held liable for any damages that result from these injuries.
How Can a Child be Injured by a Toy?
Often, discussions about product liability turn to dangerous children’s toys. There have been many famous cases of dangerous children’s toys over the past few decades, such as the suffocation deaths linked to Burger King Pokeball toys and the the $80 million lawsuit a mother filed against Toys R Us and a watch manufacturer after her son was allegedly burned by one of the company’s children’s watches that she purchased at a New Jersey Toys R Us location.
There are many ways a child can suffer an injury because of a dangerous toy. A few examples include:
- Suffering a cut on a jagged edge of a toy;
- Suffering a burn from an electronic device such as an Easy Bake oven;
- Suffering the effect of exposure to a toxic substance, such as lead or battery acid, from a leaking battery or a toy with lead-based paint;
- Hearing damage from toys that make dangerously loud noises;
- Choking on a small or detachable toy part; and
- Injuries caused by moving parts, such as the case of the Cabbage Patch doll that “ate” children’s hair.
Seeking Compensation through a Product Liability Claim
If you or your child have been injured by a defective product, do not return the product to its retailer or manufacturer. Instead, hold onto it to use as evidence to support your product liability claim. This, along with your photographs of the injury site and comments from your doctor, is an important part of proving that the injury was the direct result of using the product.
Through a product liability claim, you can seek compensation for any damages associated with the injury, such as your medical bill and lost wages due to leaving work to recover.
Work with an Experienced New York Product Liability Law Firm
If you or your child have been injured by a defective toy or other consumer product, you could be entitled to recover monetary compensation for your damages through a product liability claim. To learn more about this process, contact Grant & Longworth, Attorneys at Law, to set up your initial consultation with an experienced product liability attorney at our firm.
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