Products liability is the area of law in which manufacturers, distributors, suppliers, retailers, and others who make products available to the public are held responsible for the injuries and deaths those products cause. Many products that you use in the workplace, or that you use in your daily life, have dangerous defects due to the way they were designed, manufactured, or due to inadequate warnings explaining how the product can cause serious injury or death. Dangerous and defective products which may cause injury and death to consumers and workers include cars, trucks, ATVs, boats, forklifts, material handling equipment, shelving, welding and engineering equipment, construction equipment, power tools, saws, farm equipment, airplanes, gas-powered utilities and equipment, medical and surgical equipment, firearms, children’s toys and furniture, household appliances, and many other types of products and equipment that you are used to seeing and using in the workplace and at home. Often, manufacturers and sellers of products and equipment provide guarantees or warranties about how a product is safe, and how it can be safely used at home or at work without causing injury or death. When the product does not perform as it was warranted, and when it causes injury or death, claims exist for breach of warranty as well as possibly for negligent design, manufacture, and failure to warn.
Our lawyers have excelled in products liability cases for years, battling large manufacturers and sellers and winning multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements by proving that the product, not the consumer or employee using or operating it, was responsible for a catastrophic injury or death. Our lawyers dig deep to discover prior accidents, injuries, and deaths that have been caused by a product, and vigilantly work to get all appropriate evidence before a jury to prove how a design or manufacturing defect – or a simple failure to warn – cost someone their health or life. Our lawyers are responsible for some of the largest product liability verdicts and settlements in Maine, and we stick by our clients through years of litigation when necessary to obtain the justice deserved.
At Smith Elliott, we recognize how dangerous and defective products cause life-long injuries and pain and impact an injured person’s entire family and well-being. As a result, our product liability team travels cross-country to battle some of the largest and wealthiest manufacturers of products used both in and outside of the workplace to make those products safer, and to make our clients whole. In Maine, we work alongside Maine businesses to ensure that products shipped to their workplace – and worked with by our Maine people – are safe. We prove that catastrophic workplace injuries are often due to third party negligence – that of the manufacturer – and not the safety practices or procedures of our Maine employers. Simply said, when workplace or consumer products are dangerous, defective, and unsafe, and cause injury or death as a result, Smith Elliott works with our clients to make the responsible parties pay.
