Category: Articles, Product Liability, Regulatory Issues, Resources for Attorneys, Resources for Experts, Safety Bump Stocks and Product Liability TASA ID: 4009 The recent tragic mass shooting in Las Vegas has unhappily introduced us to “bump stock” devices, inexpensive devices whose sole purpose is to convert a semi-automatic rifle to one which then matches the rapid firepower of fully automatic military weapons, shooting a full magazine in seconds. Read more
Category: Articles, Construction, Product Liability, Resources for Attorneys Part 2: Proximate Cause in Warnings Cases Plaintiff’s Side TASA ID: 4009 In many product liability cases there is something missing from an existing warning and instruction - some safety information which arguably the plaintiff did not know at the time of the accident. It may be relatively straight forward to figure out whether or not the existing warning was defective by reference to items like the ANSI Z353 Standards, signal word, color, conspicuity, language, grade level word choice, whether or not the warning adequately explains the hazard and the consequences of not heeding the warning and whether or not the warning explains what to do to avoid the hazard. All of these are items which in general make a warning more likely to be noticed, read, understood and heeded. That is exactly why the standards and authorities require them. Read more
Category: Articles, Construction, Product Liability, Resources for Attorneys Part 1: Proximate Cause Defense in Product Liability Warnings Cases TASA ID: 4009 Jurors in product liability warnings cases strive to answer these two questions: Was the warning on this product defective?Was a defect in this warning a proximate cause of this personal injury accident?Plaintiffs do not prevail unless jurors provide a “yes” answer to both questions. The kinds of arguments and the evidence presented for each of these questions are vastly different from each other. Read more
Category: Articles, Accident Analysis / Reconstruction, Personal Injury, Product Liability, Resources for Attorneys, Safety Sledding and Tubing Injuries Written by a parks and recreation expert TASA ID: 12 Gone are the days of actual winter months and fun winter activities we used to enjoy as children. We loved the thrill of the winter weather, but more often than not, did not take the time to concern ourselves with safety. Check out what TASA-referred park and recreation expert has to say about sledding and tubing injuries...There are many factors that can contribute to the frequency and severity of sledding injuries. Location, location, location matters in real estate sales as it does in picking a sledding hill. Public land, private land, or commercial establishments have different levels of care that must be provided to sledders. Read more
Category: Articles, Product Liability What Takata Airbag Inflators Imply For Products Liability Litigation ask about my book, "The Mechanical Design Process," a text whose 5th edition was just released by McGraw Hill TASA ID: 6319 Takata airbags inflators have been identified as the cause of at least eleven deaths and countless injuries in recent years. While all products come with risks, it appears that Takata knew about the potential for injury and death as early as 2004 and made decisions to bury this information without proactively reacting to it. Read more