Holding Manufacturers Accountable for Dangerous and Defective Products

We expect the products we use at home, at work, and in our everyday lives to be reasonably safe. However, when a product is poorly designed, improperly manufactured, or lacks adequate warnings or safety protections, the consequences to your health and safety can be serious.

At Shepard O’Donnell, we represent people who have suffered serious injuries caused by dangerous and defective products. Instead of focusing our practice on any one type of product, we look at what went wrong in your specific situation, the severity of your injuries, and whether the injuries could have been prevented.

Product liability cases can be complex. Understanding what happened requires a careful and detailed investigation into the exact product that caused the injury and the circumstances surrounding the accident. When necessary, we work with qualified experts to determine whether the product was defective and who may be held responsible.

What Is a Product Liability Claim?

A product liability claim arises when someone is injured because a product was defectively designed or manufactured, lacked adequate warnings or instructions, or was otherwise unreasonably dangerous when used for its intended or reasonably foreseeable purpose. Depending on the circumstances, a product liability case may involve breach of warranty, negligence, or other claims.

Importantly, simply being injured while using a product does not necessarily mean you have a product liability claim. The critical question is whether there was something wrong with the product and whether that defect caused or contributed to the injury.

Three Types of Product Defects 

There are three primary ways a product may be defective.

1. Defective Design

Sometimes the problem begins with the product’s design. Even when a product is manufactured exactly as intended, its original design may create an unreasonable risk of injury.

For example, a machine may have an exposed pinch point, a hot surface may lack adequate protection, or equipment may be designed without a guard or other safety mechanism to prevent contact with a dangerous part. Risks include, but are not limited to: tip-overs, collapse, or entrapment; flammability or shock; choking or laceration, and brake failures and projectile risks.

In order to determine whether a product was indeed defective, engineers, scientists, medical professionals, or other specialists may be brought in to conduct a detailed investigation into how the product was supposed to work, how it was actually used, and the risks it presented. This design-defect investigation considers whether there could have been a safer way to design the product and whether additional safety features could have reduced or prevented the risk of injury.

2. Manufacturing Defects

A product may also become dangerous because something went wrong during manufacturing, assembly, or preparation.

A defective component, contamination, improper construction, or another production error may cause a product to perform differently than designed and fail unexpectedly. In these cases, the specific product that caused the injury is a particularly important piece of evidence because it allows an expert to examine it to determine exactly what failed and why.

3. Inadequate Warnings or Safety Instructions

Some products have risks that may not be obvious to the people using them. You may have a product liability claim if adequate warnings or instructions were not provided about the product’s risks or safe use. Manufacturers have a responsibility to provide warnings and instructions concerning foreseeable dangers associated with their products.

An investigation might look at what risks were known or reasonably knowable, what information was provided to users, and whether an adequate warning could have prevented the injury.

Examples of Everyday Products That Can Cause Serious Injuries

Injuries from defective products can occur anywhere: at home, at work, on the road, or while receiving medical care. Product liability claims can involve:

• Defective medical devices and implants
• Prescription drugs
• Hazardous and toxic substances 
• Motor vehicles and vehicle components
• Industrial machinery and workplace equipment
• Household and consumer products
• Children’s products and toys
• Appliances and electronics
• Tools and power equipment
• Safety equipment

The important question is not what kind of product caused the injury, but why it caused the injury and whether the harm could have been prevented.

In one case successfully handled by Shepard O’Donnell, for example, a woman suffered a severe burn and significant loss of function in her hand after it became trapped in a commercial laundry press. This complex case required proving that the machine had a design defect that caused a life-altering injury. Our experienced product liability team was able to show that there was, in fact, inadequate guarding in place to protect the operator from dangerous components, thereby securing significant financial compensation for our client.

What Types of Injuries Does Shepard O’Donnell Handle?

At Shepard O’Donnell, we focus our product liability practice on cases involving serious personal injuries. A significant burn, permanent loss of function, serious orthopedic injury, neurological damage, or another injury with substantial or lasting consequences may justify a product liability claim.

The nature and severity of the injury are important because product liability cases can require extensive investigation, often involving engineers, physicians, scientists, and other experts. If you are unsure whether your injury is serious enough to pursue a claim, speaking with an attorney can help you understand whether further investigation is warranted.

Who Can Be Held Responsible for a Defective Product?

Responsibility does not necessarily end with the company whose name appears on the label. Depending on the circumstances, a claim may be brought against a manufacturer, seller, distributor, supplier, or another company responsible for putting the product into the marketplace.

You also do not need to have purchased the product yourself to initiate a claim. Massachusetts law says that the absence of a direct buyer-seller relationship is not a defense when the injured person was someone the manufacturer, seller, lessor, or supplier could reasonably have expected to use, consume, or be affected by the product.

Discussing your case with an experienced product liability attorney can help identify the responsible parties.

What Evidence Do I Need in a Product Liability Case?

The defective product itself is one of the most important pieces of evidence in a product liability case. If possible, avoid throwing away, repairing, altering, or returning a product that may have caused an injury before speaking with an attorney.

Other potentially important evidence includes:

• Photographs or video of the product and the incident
• Packaging, labels, warnings, and instructions
• Receipts or other purchase information
• Model, lot, and serial numbers
• Medical records documenting the injury
• Communications with the manufacturer or seller
• Information about recalls or safety notices

Can I Get Compensation for Injuries Caused by a Defective Product?

A serious product-related injury can have lasting financial and personal consequences. It can affect someone’s ability to work, independence, and quality of life long after the initial accident.

Depending on the circumstances, compensation could be available for medical expenses, lost income and diminished earning capacity, pain and suffering, disability, and other losses caused by the injury. When a defective product causes a death, surviving family members may also have the right to pursue a wrongful death claim.

How Long Do I Have to File a Product Liability Claim in Massachusetts?

As with other personal injury claims, statutes of limitations apply to product liability cases as well, and waiting too long could jeopardize your ability to pursue a claim.

Massachusetts law generally requires personal injury claims, including those involving defective products, to be brought within three years of the date of the injury. Exactly how specific deadlines apply depends on your individual circumstances. An experienced personal injury attorney can tell you whether you still have time to file a claim.

Another reason to act promptly is that evidence can disappear. Products may be discarded or repaired, records may become harder to obtain, and the circumstances surrounding the incident may become harder to reconstruct. Speaking with an attorney early helps identify and preserve important evidence.

Why Choose Shepard O’Donnell for Product Liability Claims?

Product liability cases require more than just proving that an injury occurred while someone was using a product. The challenge is understanding what went wrong, identifying who was responsible, and developing the technical and legal evidence required to establish the connection between the allegedly defective product and the injury.

Shepard O’Donnell has decades of experience representing individuals and families seriously injured by dangerous products and corporate misconduct. We understand how to investigate complex cases, work with medical and technical experts, and take on well-resourced manufacturers and corporations.

Most importantly, we never lose sight of the person behind the case. We take the time to understand how an injury has affected your health, your family, your ability to work, and your quality of life so that we can pursue the full measure of accountability and compensation available under the law.

If you or someone you love suffered a serious injury and believe a dangerous or defective product may be responsible, Shepard O’Donnell can help determine what happened to pursue justice on your behalf.

Frequently Asked Questions About Product Liability

Can I have a product liability claim if the product was recalled after I was injured?
A recall may provide important evidence in a product liability investigation, but a recall is not necessarily required to bring a claim, nor does one automatically justify a claim. The central issue is whether the product was defective and whether that defect caused or contributed to your injury.

Can I bring a product liability claim if I was injured at work?
Potentially. If defective machinery, equipment, tools, or another product caused a workplace injury, there may be a product liability claim against a manufacturer or other third party in addition to any workers’ compensation benefits that may be available.

Can I have a claim if I was using the product differently than the instructions said?
It depends. Product liability cases can involve not only intended uses but also uses that were reasonably foreseeable. How the product was being used at the time of the injury will be an important part of the investigation.

Do I need an expert to prove that a product was defective?
Many product liability cases require engineers, scientists, physicians, or other qualified experts to evaluate how a product was designed or manufactured, why it failed, and whether a defect caused or contributed to the injury.