In 2010 New York Mets minor league player Brian Cole died in Florida when he swerved to avoid another vehicle and it caused his 2001 Ford Explorer to roll several times. Cole was thrown from the vehicle and died at the scene. He was an up and coming ball player and headed for the Major League Mets. Initially his death was attributed to not wearing a seat belt. His family members were sure he always wore his belt and upon inspection, the belt was buckled and it appears that the belt locking mechanism was defective and did not lock up to secure the driver.
Defective products are everywhere. Defective toaster ovens start fires, defective guns misfire, defective tires cause rollover accidents, defective power tools cut off limbs and the list goes on, almost indefinitely. Many manufacturers operate under the assumption that a warning or disclaimer insulates them from liability for their negligent design, packaging or construction. A disclaimer is not necessarily an effective risk management tool. Skilled and experienced lawyers have been successful in getting Judges and juries to legally avoid or ignore disclaimers and warnings because the law is such that if you as a manufacturer place an device or product in the stream of commerce and personal injuries or death follows, warnings have been deemed to be insufficient and ineffective.
If you or a family member suffer a catastrophic personal injury or a loved one, friend or relative dies as a result of a defective product, make sure you have competent, AV Rated Counsel who have substantial experience with Product Liability type cases. Injuries from defective products are more common that most manufacturers would admit and those types of cases are complex and you need to hire a Firm like Gibbs and Parnell who have successfully handled thousands of claims from start to finish.
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