Our Practice - Product Liability

Product Liability

When a person is injured by a defective product, the seller and/or manufacturer may be required to compensate the victim. A product liability claim should be pursued if the product lacked an element necessary to make it safe for its intended use, the vendor or manufacturer misrepresented the goods or products, caused a breach of warranty, and/or was negligent. Such claims come under three main categories: design defects, manufacturing defects, and failure to warn cases. Products causing injury can include household appliances, automobiles, industrial and work-place equipment, and airplanes. Liability can arise due to a product's formula, preparation, assembly, installation, testing, warnings, instructions, marketing, packaging, or labeling.

As our tort law has evolved, the question of negligence has been eliminated entirely from certain product liability cases. Now, in certain cases, a plaintiff is only required to demonstrate that the product caused an injury due to the defect -- the reason for the defect is irrelevant. If you have been injured by a product, contact the Law Firm of Duffy + Partners. You can count on our firm's experience and proven success record to assist you in obtaining the compensation you deserve.

Duffy + Partners has successfully pursued product liability claims (Rice, Straub) against national and international manufacturing companies resulting in significant victories for our clients. The firm has received the Bar Register of Pre-eminent Lawyers in the field of Product Liability law by Martindale-Hubbell.

In Rice, Duffy + Partners obtained a $14,000,000 verdict/settlement for a forklift operator who was crushed by pallets of frozen food when the warehouse racking he was working near collapsed upon him, resulting in partial paralysis. $3,400,000 of the result was by way of settlement with some of the defendants prior to trial. The other $10,600,000 of the result was a jury verdict against the racking manufacturer following a 5 day trial. The verdict was reported as one of the largest verdicts in the State that year. In a retrial, Mr. Rice was awarded $12,400,000, which, added to his previous settlements, and with delay damages, totals over $20,000,000.

In Straub, Duffy + Partners obtained a $4,500,000 verdict in favor of Doug Straub, a construction worker, and his wife, Carol. Mr. Straub was injured as a result of the failure of a sewer plug which exploded, breaking bones in his face, arms and legs and resulting in a closed head injury. The verdict was appealed to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court twice and was ultimately affirmed resulting, with interest, in payment of approximately $6,500,000. The verdict was reported as one of the largest verdicts in the State that year.