PRODUCT LIABILITY ARTICLES MAIN PAGE

9/15/2017· Product Liability

A Viable Product vs. The Legal System

By: Dr. Carl J. Abraham

In the United States, the most litigious country in the world, a products liability action may be brought, under state law, for express or implied breach of warranty, misrepresentation and negligence. Under the theory of strict liability, a lawsuit may be initiated on the grounds of manufacturing and design defects as well as poor and inadequate warning instructions. The best defensive strategy for a company to avoid becoming involved in any of the above is to manufacture the safest product possible within parameters of economic feasibility. If said manufacturer can vouch for safety factors in the design, production, testing, inspection and evaluation of its product as well as attentiveness to consumer complaints, it will be more likely to avoid litigation or at least be able to prevail in the courtroom.

4/7/2014· Product Liability

Advances in Table Saw Safeguarding-Saw Stop

By: John Ryan, BSME, PE

Table saw accidents occur frequently, often resulting in serious accidents when the operator comes in contact with the saw blade. The difficulties in guarding table saw blades with conventional guarding techniques often leads to ineffective guards that are removed by saw operators due to their lack of function and flexibility.

3/13/2020· Product Liability

Approaching Product Liability as an Expert Witness

By: Meyer R. Rosen

The successful attorney-chemical expert “dyad” is, in my opinion, critically dependent on creating a trusting, workable, two-way communication. The expert must be able to educate the attorney in the complexities of the subject case, so that the attorney is comfortable in mediation or court procedures.

3/22/2019· Product Liability

Danger Lurking in the Hot Tub

By: Roger Davis

Several dangers involving the use of a hot tub (spa) may readily come to mind, such as the risk of shock or electrocution, or the risk of drowning for unsupervised young children. Not so readily apparent is the effect of overheating the human body, or "hyperthermia".

7/7/2009· Failure Analysis

Failure Analysis of a Broken Jam Jar

By: Dr. Thomas Read

Glass fractography is the most effective method for determining why a glass object, such as a bottle, failed. This technique consists of examining the fracture surfaces of the failure for artifacts such as Wallner lines and using them to trace the crack back to its origin. Once the origin has been identified, it can be examined in detail with a microscope to determine the cause of the failure.

7/7/2009· Failure Analysis

Failure Analysis of a Failed Ceramic Water Holding Tank on a Toilet

By: Dr. Thomas Read

The cracked tank was first inspected in the "as received" condition. In this condition it was cracked, but it was still whole. Next, the failed tank was separated by pulling it apart. This was done to expose the fracture surfaces of the main crack. This allowed for a complete failure analysis and for a determination of where the crack initiated.

4/7/2015· Product Liability

Forensic Clues: Failure to Maintain

By: John Ryan, BSME, PE

While many accidents involving products are the result of a product defect that leads to injury of the product user, accidents can also be the result of a failure caused by lack of maintenance or inspection. This issue of Clues will examine the theory behind failure to maintain accidents, as well as provide examples of common accidents that are due to a lack of maintenance.

1/22/2014· Product Liability

Forensic Clues: How to Survive in a Hostile Tort Reform Market

By: John Ryan, BSME, PE

Product Liability Reform has affected many attorneys, consumers, and experts negatively while failing in its goal of greater American competitiveness. This issue of Forensic Clues is dedicated to addressing the problems of tort reform, how this affects you, and what you as an attorney can do to reduce your costs and increase your chances of a successful product liability case, assuming that the case involves a legitimate product defect.

1/21/2015· Product Liability

Forensic Clues: Products and Child Safety

By: John Ryan, BSME, PE

No one likes to see children get hurt, especially when it could be prevented. Poor design, manufacturing defects, material defects, assembly errors, and the lack of a hazard analysis can result in hazardous products that injure people. Many products are put in stores that may have never been looked at by a design engineer and/or a safety specialist.

7/14/2009· Forensic Analysis

Golf Car Hazards

By: Kristopher J. Seluga, PE

According to the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC), there are approximately 10,000 golf car related injuries requiring emergency room treatment in the US each year. One significant mode of injury in golf car accidents is passenger ejection, which can lead to serious injuries, especially of the head. Based on CPSC statistics, roughly 35% of golf car accidents involve a person falling out of the car. In addition to ejection accidents, at least 10% of golf car accidents involve a rollover and statistics indicate that such accidents are roughly twice as likely to lead to injuries requiring a hospital stay as non-rollover accidents.