Products Liability Newsletters

Intermediaries' Liability for Distributing Drugs and Medical Devices

As a general rule, intermediaries (retailers, distributors, or wholesalers involved in distributing drugs and medical devices) have the same liability for a drug or medical device as the drug company that manufactured the product. Intermediaries that merely distribute the product can generally avoid liability, but distributors whose only activity involved unwrapping and rewrapping the products for sale to the retailer have been held liable. Some states have laws that prevent non-manufacturers from being held liable for injuries caused by defective products. More...

The Physician's Liability for Drugs and Medical Devices

Most medical treatment uses some form of drug therapy. Consequently, most medical malpractice actions have a drug liability aspect. A physician has a duty to exercise the skill and care generally shown by competent physicians with similar training in diagnosing a condition and prescribing drugs or medical devices. If not, the physician can be held liable for professional negligence or medical malpractice.More...

Effect of Product Recalls on Litigation

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is responsible for announcing the recall of products that present a significant risk to consumers. The risk can arise because a product is defective or because it violates a mandatory standard issued by the CPSC. Most product manufacturers will voluntarily recall a product based on a request by the CPSC or the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or based on the manufacturer's own determination that the product in question is unsafe. More...

Jury Instructions in Products Liability Lawsuits Based on Negligence

The judge gives the jury instructions after all the evidence is presented in a trial. The instructions tell the jury the law it must follow in reaching a verdict. The role of the jury is to consider all the evidence and determine what happened in the case. There are three separate theories of liability in products liability lawsuits: strict liability, negligence, and breach of warranty. Negligence is the lack of ordinary care. A manufacturer can be held liable for negligence if it fails to use due care in designing, manufacturing, or labeling its products. This article discusses jury instructions that are given in products liability lawsuits based on negligence. More...

Apportionment of Liability

The apportionment of liability between multiple defendants in product liability actions varies from state to state. The state laws governing apportionment of liability range from joint and several liability to proportionate liability to various hybrid forms of apportionment. Under the theory of joint and several liability, a plaintiff could recover all of his or her damages against only one of multiple defendants. Joint and several liability was designed to allow plaintiffs to recover from some defendant instead of having to pursue all potential defendants who could avoid liability by blaming the injury on other defendants. Joint and several liability places the burden on the defendant of joining other tortfeasors in an action or risk having to pay for all of a plaintiff's damages alone. More...