Consumer Products and Product Liability Attorneys

There is no question that we live in a consumer-based society. Each and every day, the majority of Americans purchase and use some type of consumer good—from cosmetics to household cleaners to cars. The companies that make and sell those products have a legal obligation to provide safe and effective products. Unfortunately, millions of people are injured -- or even killed -- each year by defective consumer products.

The following are just a few examples of hazardous consumer products:

• Appliances or consumer electronics that have defective wiring that can cause burns, electric shock or fire.
• Cosmetics that have not been properly tested may cause chemical burns or other skin reactions.
• Household cleaners that are not appropriately labeled that can cause skin irritation or react with other chemicals to create harmful vapors. • Tires that fail and cause tragic motor vehicle accidents.
• Children's toys that present choking hazards, cause eye injuries, or violate the lead paint standard.
• Food related outbreaks due to inappropriate handling and negligence such as e-coli and salmonella.
• Prescription medicines intended to treat illnesses such as high cholesterol or dementia but have unreported side effects that sometimes turn out to be worse than the diseases they are intended to treat.

With so many products in the marketplace, various government agencies and private groups work to protect the public from unreasonable risks of serious injury or death from consumer goods.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is responsible for ensuring the safety of food, human drugs, veterinary drugs, biological products, medical devices, and radiation-emitting electronic products. The FDA is also responsible for ensuring that these products are accurately and informatively represented to the public.

While the FDA regulates a large portion of products, the agency has no jurisdiction over many household goods. Instead, jurisdiction of over more than 15,000 types of products belongs to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The CPSC works to reduce the injuries from and more than $800 billion annual cost of defective products. The agency also offers consumers a place to file reports of unsafe products as well as a database of product safety news and product recalls at http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prerel.html.

There are also independent groups who conduct product tests and reviews. Public Citizen is nonprofit consumer advocacy organization that addresses public safety issues involving the government and private businesses. Public Citizen issues reports on product hazards when it believes other organizations such as the FDA are not doing an adequate job of alerting consumers of problems. Many consumers look to groups like Public Citizen for product information because they are believed to be an unbiased party. Two of the larger consumer product areas that group addresses are prescription drugs and automobile standards.

Legal Counsel

Individuals who have become ill or have been injured because of a consumer product may be entitled to monetary compensation. This compensation may include payment for property damage, medical expenses, lost wages, long-term disability, and pain and suffering. Punitive damages may also be awarded against companies whose actions have been particularly egregious.

If you have been injured by a consumer product, it is important to seek the advice of an experienced product liability attorney who will work to gather the evidence and resources necessary to take on a large corporation. Nearly all product liability cases are subject to a statute of limitations or time limit for filing a legal action. So you should seek the counsel of a product liability lawyer as soon as possible after an injury.