Boston defective products lawyer

September 4, 2016

Hosford v. BRK Brands, Inc.: Products Liability Cases

In Hosford v. BRK Brands, Inc., a case from the Alabama Supreme Court, a four-year-old girl was killed in fire in her family’s mobile home in May 2011. Her mother and other surviving family members filed a personal injury lawsuit with a wrongful death claim against the maker of the two smoke detectors that were installed in the home at the time of her tragic death.

They made various claims that are common in products liability cases, such as failure to warn, negligence and claims of wantonness. Failure to warn of a known danger is one of the more common claims, because it is an allegation the maker of a particular product was aware or should have been aware of a certain type of danger when the product was being used for its intended purpose and failed to warn the plaintiff of that potential danger. Continue reading

August 25, 2016

Applebaum v. Target Corp: Products Liability Cases

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

In Applebaum v. Target Corp, plaintiff was injured while riding a bicycle she purchased at defendant’s big box retail store. She claimed the reason she was injured was because of a defective brake on the bike that was resold to her after another customer had returned the item. She claims the bike was returned to the store because of the defective brake, negligently repaired, and then resold to her, thus causing her to suffer a personal injury.

According to court records from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, this case deals with the issue of whether plaintiff was injured while riding her bicycle due to a defective bicycle or due to operator error. Continue reading

April 15, 2016

Dehumidifier Fires and Burn Risk Prompt Record $15.45M Penalty Against Manufacturer

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

The China-based Gree Electric Appliances Inc. and its partners have agreed to pay a $15.45 million civil penalty after U.S. regulators alleged the company’s dehumidifiers posed a fire and burn risk to consumers and the company failed to warn them or take immediate action to remedy the problem.

Gree manufactured and sold some 2.5 million dehumidifiers at big name stores throughout the country under more than a dozen different brand names. But when the company learned that its units were posting a fire and burn risk, it failed consumers and regulators on several fronts. Among those:

The company intentionally failed to report a defect and the unreasonable risk of severe injury to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) right away within 24 hours as required under federal law.
The company intentionally misrepresented key facts to investigators with CPSC as they were delving into the reported issues.
The company sold these products indicating they were UL safety certified, despite the fact it was known these products did not meet the basic UL flammability standards.

The devices were sold under highly-recognized brand names, such as GE, Kenmore, Frigidaire and Soleus Air. Continue reading