dangerous products

Florida product liability lawyer Florida product liability claims can be the subject of complex legal battles, often owing to the difficulty in establishing the chain of commerce.

Under Florida law, when a product has been defectively designed or manufactured or when there are label defects, several entities may be held strictly liable. Potentially liable entities include the manufacturer as well as any others allegedly involved in the design, manufacturing, or sale of the product.

As our Florida product liability lawyers can explain, the chain of commerce has been raised in a growing number of injury cases in recent years aiming to hold accountable large e-commerce retailers like Amazon. If a store like Home Depot sells you a defective chainsaw and it causes serious injury, the store can be held liable because of its role in the chain of commerce. However, e-commerce makes it a little tricky. It’s been the position of Amazon that the doctrine of strict products liability doesn’t apply because e-commerce platforms don’t distribute, manufacture, or sell many of the products on the site. Rather, it asserts it is merely “an online marketplace.” Amazon insists it should be the third-party sellers who are legally responsible for dangerous product injuries.

However, that argument was rejected in a California appellate decision last year – the first of its kind at the state appellate court level. Although that ruling isn’t precedential for Florida, it could be instructive in future cases.

The ruling is particularly noteworthy considering more than 360 million products are sold on Amazon Marketplace a year in the U.S. alone. Earlier this year, The Wall Street Journal reported that more than 4,000 banned, unsafe and mislabeled products had been sold on the company’s platform. These products ranged from toys with choking hazards to defective motorcycle helmets. Dozens have resulted in federal lawsuits alleging serious injury and death. Continue reading

South Florida personal injury lawyer

Many South Florida personal injury lawyers offer up a wealth of information about things like, “What to do after a car accident,” or, “Ways nursing homes can be liable for neglect,” and, “Who can file wrongful death litigation?” This insight is valuable, but much of it presumes the person involved was not already disabled or medically vulnerable. There is a presumption that one day he or she is completely fine, then they encounter someone else’s negligence, and now they have serious injuries with long-term consequences. But what if you had a pre-existing condition? What if you were already medically fragile?

In Florida, this is an important consideration because it:

Ranks No. 2 nationally for having the highest percentage of the population over the age of 65. There are an estimated 73 million baby boomers nationally, with many vacationing in Florida or having second homes here, even if they don’t live here full time.
Reports of more than 28 percent of adult residents have some type of disability. That is higher than the national average of 25 percent.
Has nearly 1.7 million elderly residents with at least one type of disability.

Incidents that give rise to Florida personal injury claims, such as car accidents, slip-and-fall injuries, dangerous product injuries – these do not just happen to young people who had zero health issues beforehand. People who are elderly or disabled may be at increased risk of certain types of injuries (falls in particular). Additionally, the extent of the injuries they are likely to suffer is often more severe, and recovery will take longer. Continue reading