Products Liability Newsletters

Admissibility of Evidence of Prior Accidents in Product Liability Actions

Admissibility of Evidence of Prior Accidents in Product Liability Actions

Food Quality

In 1996, Congress passed landmark food safety legislation called the Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA). The goal of the FQPA is to protect the public from harmful pesticide residues. Under prior law, the EPA established "tolerances" (maximum legal levels) for pesticide chemical residues in food. The FQPA considers pesticide tolerances as "safe" when there is a reasonable certainty that no harm will result from cumulative exposure to pesticide residues. These tolerances are based on a risk assessment that includes all anticipated dietary exposures and all other exposures for which there is reliable information. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) enforces tolerances for most foods. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Services enforces tolerances for meat, poultry, and some egg products.

Heavy Machinery Litigation

Accidents caused by construction equipment, such as cranes, backhoes, bulldozers, front-end loaders, and skid-steer loaders, and manufacturing equipment often leave the victims dead or living with severe disabilities. Many of these accidents are just that -- unavoidable consequences of dangerous industries. Other construction accidents can be avoided with safer equipment, better warnings, or both. As a result of the avoidability of some construction accidents, manufacturers, distributors, and sellers of heavy machinery have often been held liable for injuries sustained as a result of defects in the machinery or as a result of improper warnings.

Motor Vehicle Safety Act

Congress enacted the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966 (Act) to reduce traffic accidents and deaths and injuries resulting from traffic accidents. Congress directed the U.S. Secretary of Transportation to issue motor vehicle safety standards. This task was delegated to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which was set up to carry out safety programs. Besides adopting motor vehicle safety standards, the NHTSA investigates safety defects in automobiles and trucks and orders vehicle recalls when necessary.

Motor Vehicles

Motor vehicles can have design defects and manufacturing defects. If a defect causes harm to a consumer, the manufacturer can be held liable for damages. You have probably heard of a manufacturer "recalling" an automobile or an automobile part because it is defective. The manufacturer will generally repair or replace the defective part or automobile without charge. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration publishes recall information and also issues safety alerts and warnings about vehicles.