Occasionally, companies will manufacture products which are faulty or even downright dangerous. This can mean that the company faces legal liability for the manufacture of the product as a result of the harm that is done to consumers. Some of the types of products which often attract this type of liability are drugs such as thalydimide which was a pill for morning sickness that caused birth defects or Vallium which became known for causing heart atttacks in some people or Fire extinguishers from Chubb which may have been under or over filled with powder.
One of best known examples of a product liability case resulted from a 1981 accident that killed Lilly Gray and badly burned 13-year old Richard Grimshaw and later became the case of Grimshaw v. Ford Motor Co. in which the California Court of Appeal allowed compensatory damages of $2.5 million and punitive damages of $3.5 million against the Ford Motor Company because Ford knew of the problems with the car before production but had decided against changing the design. The Ford Pinto later became the subject of a major scandal and was eventually named in time magazine’s worst 50 cars in history. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) put pressure on Ford to recall the Pinto. The car could easily be damaged in a rear end collision which would result in the fuel tank being pushed onto the sharp parts of the differential and the tank being punctured. This was compounded by substandard reinforcing on the doors which meant that they could easily jam in an accident and trap the occupants inside in a fire. The most gauling aspect of the whole affiar from the public perspective was that Ford appeared to be aware of the design problem but though it would be cheaper to pay the resulting law suits than have a redesign done. This memo was later leaked and gave the company the reputation for a gross disregard for human life and as the manufacturer of the ‘BBQ that seats 4’.
If you believe that you or someone that you know have been injured as a result of the use of product that will attract product liability, please do not hestiate to contact us.
