In the United States, products are required to be safe. It’s that simple.
Food must be safe to eat. Cars must be safe to drive. Car seats and toys must be safe for children. Products as diverse as lamps, cosmetics, vitamins, electric fans, pain relievers, kitchen appliances and power tools all must demonstrate that they have been responsibly researched, grown, processed, designed and/or manufactured for consumer use.
Asbestos. Tobacco. Faulty airbags. Prescription drugs. Tires. All have been the focus of large product liability cases.
Since GM was found to have manufactured vehicles with faulty ignition switches that could shut off engines while driving, it has issued more than 26 million recalls of its automobiles for various issues and paid hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation for deaths and injuries. When Philip Morris was found to have caused a woman’s lung cancer because it failed to warn her of known risks, it was ordered to pay billions of dollars in punitive damages. When Dow Corning’s silicone breast implants caused injuries and deaths after they ruptured inside women’s bodies, the company agreed to pay $2 billion in damages.
When a defective product injures a person because of a defect or a flaw in the design or manufacture of a product, that person may be entitled to compensation. And the entities that are responsible can include the grower, designer, manufacturer and the seller.
When a product is found to be dangerous in a way that could be predicted as a part of regular use – as in power tools, for instance, or pesticides – the company has a responsibility to warn consumers of that danger. This is why large plastic bags come with warnings about possible suffocation, why tobacco products have explicit health warning labels on the outsides of the package and alcohol products include cautions against abuse or overconsumption.
In cases as complex as product liability cases, it is critical to discuss your situation with an attorney who has experience dealing with large companies, commercial litigation, expert witnesses, insurance companies and cases that have multiple legal aspects to them. Peter Mazzeo has spent more than two decades working in trial law, personal injury law, product liability, medical malpractice, bad faith claims, and civil and criminal litigation. He was awarded the 2018 "The National Trial Lawyers Top 100"; the 2016, 2017 and 2018 MyVegas magazine’s Top 100 Lawyers of the Year; top Nevada Legal Elite lawyer by Nevada Business Magazine. Mazzeo has favorably argued complex multiple-issue appeals to the Nevada Supreme Court and has obtained multi-million dollar settlements for clients, sometimes without a trial.
At Mazzeo Law, we do more than fight aggressively for our clients; we take care of them. We will explain and ensure that you understand the process from the very beginning, through the negotiation process, litigation, or trial. We know that product liability cases can be complicated and intense, and we are here to help.
If you feel that you’ve been injured due to a product or company, don’t hesitate to contact us:
- Email us at ask@mazzeolaw.com
- Call and talk to an attorney at (702) 382-3636.
- Click here and fill out our contact form, and we’ll get back to you right away..