The Dangers of Defective Products and How a Lawyer Can Help
As parents, the safety of our children is paramount. We trust the companies that design, manufacture, and sell toys and products for children to prioritize their well-being. Yet, despite strict regulations and consumer protections, defective toys and other children’s products can still make it to store shelves—and into our homes.
If a defective product injures your child, it can be a heart-wrenching experience, leaving you with questions about how such a thing could happen and what steps you can take to protect your family. At Wilshire Law Firm, our personal injury lawyers believe in fighting for families whose trust has been shattered by negligent manufacturers.
Are Your Child’s Toys and Products Safe?
Toys, cribs, high chairs, car seats, and even everyday products like cell phones designed for young adults can pose hidden dangers. These dangers include sharp edges, small parts that pose choking hazards, or toxic chemicals. Even tech gadgets marketed for young children, like tablets and smartphones, can present risks, such as overheating batteries or poorly designed safety features that fail to protect them online.
Types of Product Defects That Pose Hazards to Children
Children are especially vulnerable to dangerous products, and manufacturers are responsible for ensuring that the items they sell are safe for young users. Unfortunately, some products contain serious defects that can lead to severe injuries. Here are common types of product defects that pose hazards to children:
- Furniture Tip-Over Hazards: Unstable furniture like dressers and bookshelves can tip over if not properly secured. This can result in crushing injuries, broken bones, head trauma, and even fatalities.
- Choking Hazards: Toys with small, detachable parts or loose buttons can become choking hazards for young children, leading to blocked airways, asphyxiation, or severe internal damage if swallowed.
- Toxic Chemicals: Products containing harmful substances such as lead paint, phthalates, or other toxic materials can cause poisoning, developmental issues, or long-term health effects.
- Burn or Fire Hazards: Overheating electronic toys, battery-operated devices, or poorly insulated wiring in products like smartphones or tablets can lead to burns or house fires.
- Strangulation Risks: Items with long cords, strings, or ribbons, like blinds or certain clothing, pose a risk of strangulation, particularly for infants and toddlers.
- Defective Car Seats or Strollers: If not properly designed or constructed, car seats, strollers, or cribs can malfunction, leading to falls, entrapment, or improper restraint during a car accident.
These defects can result in serious injuries, including brain injuries, broken bones, internal bleeding, respiratory distress, and in some cases, wrongful death. Parents who discover that a defective product has harmed their child should immediately seek legal counsel to hold the manufacturer accountable and secure the compensation they deserve.
Current Recalls and Alerts: What Parents Should Know
In the last few years, multiple high-profile recalls have highlighted just how vulnerable children can be to defective products. For example, due to serious safety concerns, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) regularly issues recalls on children’s toys, products, and furniture. These recalls can result from hazardous materials, faulty construction, or improper labeling.
Some recent examples include:
- Baby formula recalls due to contamination.
- Children’s sleepwear recalls due to the risk of flammability.
- Stroller recalls for defects causing tipping or collapses.
- Cell phone and tablet recalls targeting youth, such as overheating batteries and potential fire hazards.
Parents and caregivers can stay informed about recalls and alerts on children’s products by checking CPSC.gov or signing up for recall notifications. However, if your child was injured before a recall was issued, you may feel you’ve been let down by the system meant to protect your family.
The Impact of Defective Products on Children and Families
When a defective product injures a child, it isn’t just the child who suffers—families face immense emotional and financial strain. Children are uniquely vulnerable because they often cannot understand or react quickly to dangers in the same way adults can. Manufacturers and retailers that produce and distribute these products owe a duty of care to make them as safe as possible, especially when children are involved.
Unfortunately, some companies cut corners to save costs or fail to adequately test their products before putting them on the market. This lack of care is unacceptable, and Wilshire Law Firm believes families deserve justice when negligence leads to a child’s injury.
What is Product Liability? Who Is at Fault?
Product liability law holds manufacturers, distributors, suppliers, and retailers accountable for putting defective products into the hands of consumers. In California, a company can be held liable for damages if the product was defectively designed, manufactured, or marketed.
There are three main types of product defects that can lead to liability:
- Design Defects occur when a product’s design is inherently dangerous, even if it is manufactured correctly.
- Manufacturing Defects arise when a product is manufactured improperly, leading to a dangerous defect that wasn’t intended in the design.
- Marketing Defects, also known as failure to warn, occur when a company does not provide adequate instructions or warnings about a product’s potential risks.
In California, strict liability laws apply to defective product cases, which means that you do not need to prove that the manufacturer or seller was negligent—only that the product was defective and caused injury. This is a powerful tool for injured families, as it removes the burden of proving fault beyond the defect itself.
California Product Liability Laws and How They Protect You
California’s product liability laws are designed to protect consumers, especially in cases involving vulnerable populations like children. Under these laws, several parties can be held responsible for a child’s injury, including:
- Manufacturers: If the product was poorly designed or made with substandard materials.
- Distributors: If a defect occurred in how the product was distributed or packaged.
- Retailers: If they sold a defective product, they may be held liable, even if they did not know it was defective.
California’s strict liability laws make it easier for parents to seek compensation when a defective product injures their child. Unlike other areas of personal injury law, strict liability doesn’t require proof of negligence—just proof that the product was defective and caused harm. However, navigating these cases can still be complex, especially when dealing with large corporations or multinational manufacturers.
Class Action and Individual Lawsuits: What Are Your Legal Options?
If a defective product has injured multiple children, a class action lawsuit may be filed. Class actions allow many plaintiffs to combine their claims into one lawsuit against a company. This can be an effective way to seek justice for widespread harm, and companies often settle these cases quickly to avoid further public scrutiny.
However, an individual product liability lawsuit may be the best option if your child’s injury is unique or severe. In these cases, you can seek compensation for:
- Medical expenses: Including hospital stays, surgeries, and rehabilitation.
- Pain and suffering: For the trauma and emotional impact of the injury on both the child and the family.
- Lost income: If parents had to miss work to care for an injured child.
- Long-term care: If the injury leads to lasting disabilities or conditions that require ongoing care.
At Wilshire Law Firm, we are relentless in pursuing justice for injured children and their families. Our powerhouse team of personal injury attorneys will thoroughly investigate your claim, gather evidence, and build a strong case to hold the responsible parties accountable.
How Product Liability Cases Involving Children Differ from Cases Involving Adults
Handling a product liability case involving a child or children’s products differs significantly from cases involving adults due to the heightened vulnerabilities and protections surrounding children. Children often lack the ability to recognize or avoid dangers posed by defective products, which makes manufacturers and sellers more accountable for ensuring product safety.
- Heightened Duty of Care: Manufacturers of children’s products are held to a higher standard of care because children are less capable of identifying risks. Products designed for children must be rigorously tested for hazards like choking, toxicity, or strangulation, which wouldn’t typically be as significant in adult product cases.
- Severe Consequences: Injuries to children can have long-term effects on their physical, emotional, and cognitive development. This can make the damages in child-related cases more extensive, as compensation must often account for ongoing medical care, future lost income, and lifelong impact.
- Emotional Impact: Cases involving injured children often carry a stronger emotional component, which can influence settlement negotiations or jury decisions. Families dealing with the trauma of a child’s injury require sensitive legal representation to ensure the case addresses both financial and emotional damages.
At Wilshire Law Firm, we understand the unique challenges of handling product liability cases involving children and will fight to protect your family’s future while holding negligent manufacturers accountable.
Holding Manufacturers Accountable: A Lawyer’s Role in Maximizing Compensation
When you entrust a personal injury attorney with your child’s case, you’re not just hiring someone to file paperwork. You are enlisting a legal advocate who will fight to ensure your family receives full compensation for the harm caused by a defective product. Wilshire Law Firm will:
- Investigate the defect: Our team will thoroughly review the product’s design, manufacturing process, and distribution chain to determine where the defect occurred and who is responsible.
- Negotiate with insurance companies: We know how to handle the tactics that large companies and insurers use to reduce their payouts. We won’t settle for less than what your family deserves.
- Prepare for trial: While many cases are settled before trial, we are always prepared to take your case to court if necessary. With our billion-dollar team, we have the resources and experience to challenge large corporations and win.
Recalls and Legal Action: Don’t Wait to Take Action
If you suspect a defective product injured your child, time is critical. California has a two-year statute of limitations on personal injury claims, which means you have a limited window to file a lawsuit. Waiting too long could jeopardize your chances of receiving compensation. Don’t wait until a product is recalled to take action—by that time, it may be too late.
Your Child Deserves Justice, and We Will Fight for It
Defective products can have life-altering consequences for children and their families. At Wilshire Law Firm, we believe that no child should suffer because of a company’s negligence. Whether through an individual lawsuit or class action, our mission is to hold the responsible parties accountable and secure maximum compensation for your family.
California’s product liability laws are on your side, but navigating the legal process can be overwhelming. That’s where we come in. As a compassionate and results-driven firm, we are relentless in our pursuit of justice for our clients.
Contact Wilshire Law Firm today if a defective toy, cell phone, or other product has injured your child. We will help you understand your legal options, build a powerful case, and fight for the compensation your family deserves.
We are proud to represent families in Los Angeles, Oakland, Riverside, Orange County, Fresno, San Jose, San Francisco, and throughout California. Our commitment to excellence, justice, and unity guides everything we do. Let our compassionate team stand by your side and fight for the future your child deserves.
Contact Wilshire Law Firm today for a free consultation. With our relentless pursuit of justice and our billion-dollar team by your side, you can focus on healing while we take care of the rest. Call our home office in Los Angeles at 213-335-2402 or contact us online.
