In a word, no. Product recalls prevent bad problems from becoming worse, since they take dangerous products out of circulation. But product recalls do nothing to compensate injured victims. A Marietta personal injury attorney must file a legal action in court to obtain compensation for defective product victims.
Incidentally, agencies like the Food and Drug Administration only press for product recalls as a last resort. Industry-paid user fees provide almost half of this agency’s budget. The more items these companies sell, the more user fees they pay. In other words, FDA bureaucrats have a financial incentive to limit recalls. These recalls are only recall requests. The FDA does not have the power to unilaterally recall a defective product, no matter how dangerous it is.
Legal Matters
A legal claim for defective product compensation is usually a strict liability claim. Manufacturers are strictly liable for the injuries their defective products cause. Metal-on-metal (MoM) hip implants are an example of both kinds of product defects.
- Design Defect: Manufacturers claimed that all-metal hip implants would be much longer-lasting than the old plastic-on-metal models. But as people walk, the metal parts in their artificial hips grind together, releasing tiny fragments that cause metallosis (metal poisoning) and device displacement.
- Manufacturing Defect: Since the new designs were more expensive, manufacturers tried to cut corners wherever possible. Many hip makers used cheap imported parts from overseas countries. These parts often had high levels of heavy metals, which sped up the metallosis and device displacement process.
A company involved in an inherently dangerous activity is also strictly liable for damages in Georgia. Many kinds of mining and manufacturing operations are inherently dangerous activities in the Peach State. A judge usually has the final say on what constitutes an IDA.
Lack of causation and the unforeseeable misuse defense are the two most effective defenses in defective product claims.
Defective products, like dangerous drugs, often cause cancer and other long-term serious illnesses. Environmental toxins are by no means the only cause of cancer. To prove causation, most Marietta personal injury attorneys rely on illness clusters. If a lot of people got sick after they attended Billy’s birthday party, something at that party most likely caused their illnesses.
On a related note, the cancer latency period is usually several decades. The discovery rule allows victims to file legal claims in these situations, even though the statute of limitations has passed.
Unforeseeable misuse is extreme misuse. Companies aren’t responsible for damages if plaintiffs do something like ride jet skis in swimming pools.
Your Claim for Damages
Most defective product claims, like most other civil claims, settle out of court. Sometimes, these cases settle early in the process. However, since defective product claims are so complex, as outlined above, they normally settle during mediation.
A third-party mediator, who is usually an unaffiliated Marietta personal injury lawyer, works with both sides and tries to help them reach an agreement. Most mediators are very experienced in this area. Additionally, the mediator ensures that both sides negotiate in good faith. “Take it or leave it” is not a good-faith negotiating position.
Because of these two things, mediation is about 90% successful in civil claims in Cobb County.