Defective Products
Product manufacturers can be held strictly liable for producing defective products. All those in the chain of sale such as retail stores can likewise be held strictly liable. Defects can occur in design, manufacture, and failure to warn. The product must perform in a manner expected by the ordinary consumer.
We have successfully resolved cases against foreign and domestic auto makers for severe injuries resulting from unstable vehicles that roll over, inadequate roof strength causing crushed roofs, failure to provide electronic stability control (ESC) to prevent loss of control, defective seat belts and seats, gas tank defects and tire defects. We have successfully prosecuted cases involving unsafe childrens' toys, defective ladders, flammable clothing, defective heaters, unsafe industrial machinery, defective construction equipment, unsafe power tools including nail guns and saws, unsafe playground equipment and unsafe recreational stoves
Our successes along with other product liability lawyers' successes have compelled manufacturers to design and produce safer products. We have extensive experience in protecting the rights of injured consumers. We retain highly qualified technical and commercial experts to identify product defects and convince juries to award adequate damages to compensate injured victims.
Examples of our successful cases:
Apartment heater asphyxiates student -- $3,500,000
After watching the Super Bowl on a cold January night, a University of California at Berkeley student was asphyxiated and became comatose when he was overcome by carbon monoxide from a faulty apartment heater in Oakland, California. The two front covers of the heater were defectively designed, allowing them to be easily reversed in placement which resulted in the release of deadly carbon monoxide. The student was the only child of parents who are able to care for their son with the funds obtained in the settlement.
Ladder causes fall resulting in brain injury -- $5,486,835
A construction foreman working on a 40' extension ladder on a skylight at Lockheed Missiles and Space in Sunnyvale, California fell when his extension ladder failed, resulting in traumatic brain injury (TBI). We proved there was a defectively designed locking mechanism in the 40 foot extension ladder manufactured by Cuprum S.A. de C.V. and supplied by Industrial Ladder Co., although the defendants strongly disputed any liability. The settlement funds allowed his wife to provide excellent quality care for her permanently injured husband.
Design defect on maintenance platform -- $505,000
The plaintiff was an electrical contractor repairing lights in a high ceiling by use of a maintenance platform placed on a forklift. The maintenance platform moved off the forklift blades, causing the contractor to fall, injuring the contractor. We contended there was a failure to warn about the placement of the forklift blades and there was a design defect. The plaintiff suffered a cerebral concussion and orbital rim facial fractures.
Fire truck crashes into Store -- $2,515,000
A City of Oakland fire truck, operating without a siren on the way to a fire, crashed into a grocery store, killing a 28-year-old Vietnamese mother, survived by her husband and three children. The fire truck failed to stop at a stop sign, struck a vehicle in the intersection and crashed into the store. We contended there was a design defect in the Navistar International Fire Truck in the positioning of the brake and accelerator pedals that could not be individually applied in an emergency situation while wearing firefighter's boots. The City failed to properly train the negligent driver of the fire truck.
Protective scaffolding removed causing fall -- $6,000,000
A Fremont, California construction worker, doing plastering work on an apartment building in San Leandro, California, was paralyzed below his waist when he fell 40 feet because safety scaffolding had been removed to allow the owners to start condominium sales before the work was completed. The worker was not wearing a safety line because the scaffolding had protected the workers until it was unexpectedly removed.
Defective BART train seats -- $1,000,000
We represented several Oakland firefighters and ambulance drivers who were overcome by smoke inhalation suffering lung, liver and brain damage as a result of the January 17, 1979 BART Transbay Tube fire. A BART train car caught fire while traveling under the San Francisco Bay. Oakland firefighters and emergency medical technicians were rushed into the tube to put out the fire and rescue the passengers. Polyeurethane passenger seats gave off toxic fumes and the firemen ran out of oxygen in the dense black smoke which filled the Transbay Tube. Although the California Firemen's Rule prevents injured firefighters from suing the parties responsible for causing a fire, the California Supreme Court ruled that it did not apply to the circumstances of this case. After this disastrous fire, BART replaced the polyurethane foam seats with fire retardant neoprene seats. Rohr Industries, manufacturer of the BART car and seats that caught fire, contributed to the settlement along with BART.
