Most people assume that products available for purchase in retail establishments are generally safe and reliable. People generally trust that manufacturers have conducted adequate product safety testing and utilized appropriate quality control measures to protect the public against manufacturing issues and design oversights.
Unfortunately, unsafe products make it to the market all the time. Every year, thousands of people suffer property damage losses and injuries due to unsafe products. Some people even die. Toys for young children and products intended for babies are often among the products recalled in any given year.
Why are such products often dangerous or defective?
Babies and children are unpredictable
A large component of product safety testing involves predicting how consumers might use a product even if that conduct does not align with the recommended use of a product. After all, people might improperly handle a power tool, which could lead to major injuries.
Companies therefore need to ensure that the products they release are safe and functional when used as intended or when used inappropriately as well. It can be much more difficult to predict the conduct of children and babies than the behavior of adults. It is often only after a child misuses a toy and it breaks or malfunctions that manufacturers realize they failed to account for a particular issue when designing that toy.
The same is often true of products intended for babies. Manufacturers may fail to recognize when parts could pose a suffocation or choking hazard. Small toys and even equipment intended to facilitate naps or tummy time can prove to be more dangerous than beneficial for a developing child.
Product claims can be costly for companies
Manufacturers who receive reports of a child or infant suffering an injury or dying because of a product are often quick to initiate recalls. The product liability or wrongful death lawsuits that follow tragic scenarios involving children and infants are often very expensive for the business involved.
Manufacturers might even initiate aggressive recalls when there are no injury reports yet to help mitigate the risk to the public and to the business. Unfortunately, recall efforts are not always prompt enough to protect everyone and may not be thorough enough to warn the right parties in a timely manner. Those affected by defective products may want to take legal action against a business. Both retailers and manufacturers may have a degree of liability for defective products.
Filing a product defect lawsuit can compensate those harmed by unsafe products and protect others from similar experiences. No amount of money can compensation parents from witnessing their child suffer harm. But, seeking rightful compensation can help to better ensure that the financial consequences of this horrific situation doesn’t fall on an affected family’s collective shoulders.