Products that cause injuries are a very common news story. These injuries are a result of flaws in products most people assumed to be safe, such as motor vehicle recalls, defects in airbags, bedroom dressers that fall over onto kids, bacteria found in food products, or a pharmaceutical found to cause additional problems to those who take it.
Most recently, there was the awful news about the 17 people lost in a duck boat tragedy, including 9 members of an Indianapolis family. While to this date, there has not been a recall or a ban of these duck boats, there are already many people saying these boats have always been dangerous. Certainly, there is more news to come on that issue.
Product liability lawsuits center around helping plaintiffs receive compensation for injuries sustained from using products that were supposedly safe. Manufacturers, distributors, suppliers, and other parties have a responsibility to protect the public from unnecessarily harmful or defective products, and failure to do so makes them liable for any injuries you may sustain.
If you or a member of your family or a friend have been injured by a defective product, contact Theodoros & Rooth immediately for a free consultation.
Our goal is to offer compassionate support combined with skilled legal representation to help you secure a positive and swift case result. We have the resources to take on product liability cases involving all types of defective or dangerous consumer products, including: tires, seatbelts, brakes, elevators and escalators, food, prescription and over-the-counter medication, medical devices, machinery, safety equipment, sporting goods, household appliances, electronics, children’s toys, child safety seats, fans, and more. What’s more, we have over 110 years combined experience helping people who have been hurt by the fault of others.
The manufacturer voluntarily makes a good number of these recalls even after just the first sign of a problem. Those are the responsible companies that truly care about consumers.
Unfortunately, some companies gain knowledge that a certain product could be potentially harmful, but fail to act swiftly enough. That is a situation that often results in massive lawsuits to compensate victims.
There are many product recalls that just don’t receive media coverage. So how do you know about them? There is a fairly easy way to check on recalls in many different categories. This is a simple web address that you might want to keep on hand.
This site was designed to provide better service in alerting the American people to unsafe, hazardous or defective products. Six federal agencies with vastly different jurisdictions have joined together to create a “one stop shop” for U.S. Government recalls.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has jurisdiction over more than 15,000 kinds of consumer products used in and around the home, in sports, recreation and schools, including appliances, clothing, electronics, furniture, household, children’s products, lighting / lighters, outdoor, sports / exercise.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) of the U.S. Department of Transportation provides recall information including vehicle and equipment campaigns from 1966 to present. The campaigns include motor vehicle products which experienced a safety-related defect or did not comply with federal motor vehicle safety standards. Among these items are motor vehicles & related equipment, child safety seats, tires, and school bus recalls.
The Office of Transportation and Air Quality is responsible for ensuring that motor vehicles comply with the federal emission standards throughout the useful life of those vehicles. EPA can require manufacturers to recall vehicles when a substantial number of a class or category of vehicles fail to meet the emission standards. Automobile manufacturers can voluntarily issue recalls for emission-related problems.
The U.S. Coast Guard(USCG) investigates consumer complaints about recreational boats and related equipment. The USCG reviews safety tips, news, recalls, defects, and laws and regulations dealing with: recreational boats (including personal watercraft), boat manufacturer installed equipment, boating safety issues.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has jurisdiction over recalls involving food, drugs, vaccines, medical devices, other biologics, blood and plasma products, veterinary products, and cosmetic items.
FoodSafety.gov is another government web site that provides the latest information on all food recalls and alerts as well as food illness outbreaks. The content for this site is provided by the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). FSIS issues recalls on meat, poultry, and egg products. There are also contributions by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provides leadership in the nation’s environmental science, research, education and assessment efforts. EPA has jurisdiction over recalls involving: pesticides, rodenticides, fungicides, vehicle emission testing.
Another good site for reviewing product recalls is this link to the Indiana Attorney General’s Office.
https://www.in.gov/attorneygeneral/consumer-protection-division/recalled-products/
This information is provided as a public service to you by your friends at Theodoros & Rooth. Our mission is to be available to you and always on your side whenever you have a personal injury caused by the negligence of others.