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Consumers these days are more exposed than they think, with the boom of online retailers and eCommerce now making it easier and more convenient to shop for everyday essential products online. The rapid digitization of the retail sector has also meant that shoppers from anywhere in the world now have access to a plethora of previously unknown and foreign manufactured products that aren’t widely available in their home country.

While the mass movement of the globalized economy has opened new doors to increasing economic impact for manufacturers and leading retail brands, it’s also increased the number of potential product liability lawsuits.

With more products than ever available on the consumer market, the number of liability lawsuits and multidistrict litigation (MDL) has skyrocketed.

A 2020 Product Liability Litigation Report by Lex Machina found that the volume of liability lawsuits increased by more than 5,261 between 2018 and 2019. The total number of cases for 2019 ended at roughly 56,041, an increase from the 43,457 recorded in 2018.

But headlining product liability lawsuits are nothing new to consumers around the world. In more recent times, major retailers, from Apple, Toyota, 3M, and even online retailer, Alibaba Group Holding have come under hot water after releasing defective or dangerous products onto the consumer market.

With growing marketplace competition and an upward swing in consumer demand, retailers and manufacturers are now left cutting corners ever so slightly in a race to fulfill the growing need of consumers.

These actions, whether it’s by default or error, are leaving consumers exposed to dangerous situations. Unsafe products in the marketplace have seen consumers undergoing traumatic experiences, ranging from lethal injuries to even death.

The slightest mishap these days can increase any person’s chances of being exposed to a defective product, even if it’s from a trustworthy brand.

The Types of Product Liability Claims

Cases can vary, and depending on the severity of the injury, or damages caused, companies can be held responsible to reimburse consumers for any medical expenses, loss of income, or death.

While the range of product liability claims can be broad, there are typically three different categories that they can fall under.

Defective Manufacture

Defective Design

Inadequate Warnings and Instructions Regarding Proper Use Of The Product

For more on how product liability lawsuits work, visit Dolman Law.

In the United States, every state will have different laws regarding the control and regulation of defective product lawsuits. Basic laws within the consumer market exist to protect both the buyer and the manufacturer to ensure that any unsafe or defective products do not remain on the market and that no other victims will be subjected to any scrutiny.

The recent COVID pandemic has increased awareness surrounding consumer product safety and liability. The health crisis has given light to a new range of health and safety protocols to lower consumer risk, and exposure to any potential threats, or the potential exposure to COVID-19, which has now resulted in 22 million to 43 million American adults now estimated to have developed long COVID.

So while it’s clear that these laws exist as a barrier to help protect consumers, what are some of the most notable lawsuits in recent years that have reshaped consumer purchasing. Here’s a look.

Yu v. Alibaba Group U.S. Inc

In early June 2022, Bloombergreported that the well-known eCommerce site, Alibaba has been sued by the parents of a San Francisco man, who passed away in 2020 during a fire caused by a 3-D printer he purchased from the online retailer U.S. portal.

Parents of the deceased, Calvin Yu, mentioned that Alibaba, who knew of the defective products from Chinese electronic firm Tronxy Technology Co. was still selling them on their online marketplace. Both Alibaba and Tronxy Technology Co have been sued by the Yu family.

The case has since moved to the California Superior Court of San Francisco, and now a final settlement has been agreed upon.

Michael Macaluso v. Apple Inc.

Apple has been the headline of major controversy over the last couple of years, but in 2020, the iPhone and iPad maker came into hot water after the plaintiff, Michael Macaluso filed a lawsuit against Apple after a defective iPad sparked a house fire.

In an official complaint filed to the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania in early 2021, Macaluso’s lawyer argued that “a fire erupted at the subject premises as a direct result of one or more defect and/or malfunction in the subject iPad related to the electrical/battery system in the [device].”

While the plaintiff was paid more than $142,000 by Allstate Insurance for fire damage, a further case was opened by the Luca Levine Law Firm to sue Apple for reimbursement to the insurer for its payout.

U.S. Military Veterans and Servicemembers v. 3M

Coined as the largest multidistrict litigation issue in American history, this could perhaps be the biggest consumer and product liability lawsuit of 2022.

American multinational conglomerate corporation 3M has received more than 230,000 pending actions in Pensacola, Florida federal court, which has even surpassed the asbestos MDL from 2020.

The plaintiffs, active and retired military veterans and servicemembers, allege that they have suffered hearing damage as a result of 3M’s Combat Arms Earplugs, Version 2. The plaintiffs stated that the earplugs were defective and have led to severe audiological damage and hearing impairment.

The most surprising part is that back in 2018, 3M had already come under scrutiny for the same situation, and managed to settle claims of more than $9.1 million to the U.S. government. The company did claim they concealed defects in the earplugs but did not admit any form of liability thereof.

Hardeman v. Monsanto Co.

The Monsanto Company was founded back in 1901, as an American agrochemical and agricultural corporation. A few years back, Californian Edwin Hardeman filed a lawsuit against Monsanto Co. claiming that their most notable product, Roundup, a glyphosate-based herbicide was giving him cancer.

The case would later see a total of 124,000 similar claims, and until November 2021, the company had failed to pay more than 80% of the plaintiffs. The company has set aside $11 billion in the settlement, but in recent developments reported by Reuters, Bayer/Monsanto has attempted several appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court, which have been ruled against.

The company filed these appeals citing federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) laws, claiming that the ingredient, glyphosate does not cause any direct harm or danger to consumers' health.

In 2018, Bayer AG, a German multinational pharmaceuticals company purchased Monsanto Co for more than $63 billion.

Jason Young, Kathleen Rossitto, Riley Deal Wilkinson, Rebecca Ree Wilkins Reynolds v. Hoffmann-La Roche Inc. and Roche Laboratories Inc.

In early 2007, well-known pharmaceutical company, Hoffman-La Roche Inc. saw several lawsuits from various plaintiffs, after the company failed to warn consumers of the possible gastro-intestinal side effects associated with the product, Accuntane.

During the appeal, parent company Roche Group stated, “The cause of inflammatory bowel disease remains unknown and there is no reliable scientific evidence that Accutane causes inflammatory bowel disease.

The final amount settled came up to $18 million, but the verdict was a mixed bag of results, as a thorough investigation of the plaintiffs' argument was not found to be substantial enough for them to win the case.

Garcia v M-F Athletic Company, Inc.

M-F Athletic Company-owned Ledraplastic was at the center of attention in 2009, after well-known NBA Sacramento Kings player, Francisco Garcia sustained an injury after a Ledraplastic balancing ball exploded during his workout routine.

The plaintiff and his team argued that the company marketed the ball as safe to withstand roughly 600 pounds, and being “burst resistant.” When Garcia was using the balancing ball, he was carrying only 180 pounds of weight, and when the plaintiff's legal team recreated the scenario, the ball burst with 400 pounds on it.

Garcia and the Sacramento Kings filed a product liability for $4 million in lost salaries and $29.6 million in damages. The final amount settled has not been disclosed to the public, but Garcia and the Kings managed to win the case.

Final Thoughts

While these are only a few of the thousands of product liability lawsuits that get published each year, it just shows how exposed consumers are when it comes to everyday products and services they know and trust.

While not every product out there may be dangerous or put the user in direct harm's way, it’s always recommended to read instructions beforehand, and for consumables, make sure you know what the side effects are.

The legal system today exists within the realm of society to help protect and safeguard consumers to ensure that companies can be held accountable for their unjust actions.