Watch Out for These Defective Products During the Holidays

The holiday season is a busy time for family members to go shopping and buy gifts for family, friends, and coworkers. With a sharp increase in holiday shopping, there comes the need for people to know the importance of product safety.

Product liability is the legal responsibility that a manufacturer, distributer or supplier has for producing or selling a defective product. There are three main types of product defects that can lead to serious injuries and product liability cases.

Common Reasons Why Consumer Products Become Defective

• Some products contain design defects. These are defects that occur when a product is designed incorrectly or not properly tested before being released.
• Some defects are introduced while products are being manufactured. Manufacturing defects can also make consumer products dangerous.
• Some consumer products have inadequate instructions or ineffective warning labels. Manufacturers may be liable for injuries or deaths caused by products with improper warning labels or instructions.

Products to Look Out for During the Holidays:

• Toys. The discovery of defective toys increases dramatically during the holidays. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, there were about 240,000 toy-related injuries in 2016, and 35 children died from toy-related accidents from 2014-2016. The annual list of the holiday’s most dangerous toys, posted by the World Against Toys Causing Harm (W.A.T.C.H.) includes a variety of toys that can cause choking, blunt force trauma or eye damage.
• Kitchen appliances. Any kitchen appliance can be dangerous and cause harm if used incorrectly, but many kitchen tools over the years have caused serious harm to consumers for unknown reasons. These potential defects can result in injuries such as lacerations, burns, electrocution, or asphyxiation.
• Holiday decorations. When buying your Christmas lights, decorations, and trees, it’s crucial that you check all warning labels and instructions to ensure that you are using them correctly. However, injuries can still occur if your decorations were designed or manufactured incorrectly.

Our law firm obtained a verdict of $22 million from a manufacturer liable for marketing defective space heaters, which resulted in four wrongful deaths. If you believe that you were sold a defective product, you could potentially pursue a claim against the manufacturer or designer of the product if you suffered damages due to an injury or loss. It’s crucial that you call an experienced product liability attorney for more information.

Contact our Houston law firm at Stevenson & Murray today for your free consultation.