Lexis Nexis
Gary W. Starnes Attorney at Law
736 Georgia Avenue
Suite 404 Dome Bldg.
Chattanooga, TN 37402
Phone (800)281-2403
Fax (423) 266-7193
Email: gstarnes@volstate.net
Product Liability Lawyer
Chattanooga, Tennessee
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Efforts to Protect Consumers
The Consumer Product Safety Act of 1972 created the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to protect the American public “against unreasonable risks of injuries associated with consumer products.” Among other requirements, this act required uniformity in manufacturing standards across all states, eliminating inconsistencies that would affect the quality of products depending upon where they were manufactured.
The “Year of the Recall” is a label given to the year 2007 because over 25 million toys, cribs, household items, and other products were recalled. While the CPSC has done much to improve the safety of our products, product-related hazards continue to cause injuries and wrongful deaths. In some cases the improvements made to eliminate a previous hazard posed a new hazard to users. Pharmaceuticals continue to be introduced to the market that, despite testing and FDA approval still cause deaths and permanent injuries to trusting patients.
Efforts to Avoid Responsibility to Consumers
One indicator of how desperately manufacturers work to avoid liability is evidenced by the current efforts of pharmaceutical companies, who are actively lobbying our US and some state legislators to enact laws that protect them from lawsuits arising from injuries and deaths caused by medications that have been approved by the FDA. In other words, they are trying to “pass the buck” to the FDA for having approved the drugs based upon the studies done by the pharmaceutical companies.
Every year we are warned about the contamination of one food or another, and most often these warnings come “after the fact.” That is, after people have been injured. Some manufactures and processing plants are less than meticulous in adhering to safe practices than others. Some will distribute products known to be contaminated or dangerous in the hopes that trouble won’t come home to roost. Others distribute products not knowing of the dangers they pose.
Duty to Consumers
While the degree of negligence may vary, manufacturers are responsible for injuries and deaths that occur as a result of using their products. It is their duty to manufacture safe products, to know what goes into their products, and to make sure that the final product is safe to use as advertised. They are also responsible to recall products as soon as a danger becomes known.
Most of the time a consumer’s loss is no more than the cost of the product, which may or may not be significant. But when it causes personal injury or death, loss of wages, or full or partial disability, the damage is often caused by factors that could have been known and prevented.
If you have been the victim of a product-related injury, you need the counsel of an experienced product liability attorney. Please contact product liability lawyer, Gary Starnes, Attorney at Law, Chattanooga, Tennessee, serving clients in Tennessee and Georgia for a complimentary evaluation of your claim. Or Call 1-800-281-2403 and schedule an appointment.