kenneth ross

Warnings and instructions are a necessary part of any safe product. Rarely is a design so safe that there are no warnings and instructions that need to be followed. On the other hand, failure to follow warnings and instructions can turn an otherwise safe product into one that is hazardous. Is it foreseeable that users will not read or follow this information? And if so, what effect does that have on the manufacturer’s potential legal liability for injuries suffered while using this product?

The purchase or sale of a company or product line can create big problems in product liability and product safety for both the buyer and the seller. Comprehensive audits should be conducted before an acquisition/sale to identify potential risks in these areas and help to clearly describe the risks assumed by each party in the purchase and sales documents.

Legal problems arise as a result of most recalls. These can take the form of regulatory problems, product liability lawsuits, retailer problems, and damage to a company’s brand reputation. Well before undertaking a recall, product sellers need to consider what problems might occur and what they need to do to minimize them.

Foreign manufacturers sometimes intentionally or unintentionally cut corners on safety and quality because they are less likely to be held liable in the U.S. for problems created by their products. U.S. manufacturers who buy from foreign companies must alter their relationships with such manufacturers to account for this possibility and enhance the safety of their products to protect themselves better if problems do occur.

Manufacturers, retailers, and regulators have been working to improve product safety and make recalls more effective. This has been especially important for online retailers who have additional ways to directly contact their customers.

Recalls can create huge problems for manufacturers and product sellers. They can generate new product liability lawsuits that are harder to defend, involve a significant financial cost to implement, and create reputational problems with consumers and retailers. Manufacturers must carefully design a recall or other corrective action that is as effective as possible and adequate under the circumstances. Various government entities are issuing new requirements that can help with these efforts.

Even though warnings and instructions are not followed by all product users, they are important for product safety and product liability defensibility. Manufacturers must decide how safe to design their products and when they can also rely on warnings and instructions to make the product safe.

Customer service, before and after sale, is one of the most important functions that must be performed by a manufacturer or product seller. It is also one of the riskiest. Obtaining no information, inadequate information, wrong information, misleading information, or harmful information can make it difficult to evaluate future risk, meet your regulatory obligations, and defend a product liability lawsuit.

Manufacturers need to understand their legal responsibilities when analyzing post-sale incidents, injuries, and lawsuits so they can argue that they met their statutory reporting responsibilities.

Manufacturers should understand product liability law and consider it pre-sale when they design and manufacture their products and after sale when they deal with potential product safety problems reported to them by consumers. Doing so will result in safer products and, if there is a lawsuit, a better defense.