Faulty and defective products result in injuries to thousands of people every year. Kline & Specter attorneys have handled complex, investigative-based litigation and lawsuits involving everything from defective BB guns to a popular model pick-up truck (White, Bobb) to vaginal mesh products (McFarland, Mesigian) and pharmaceuticals such as Risperdal and transvaginal mesh. Overall, our law firm has the most large verdicts in the United States, having obtained four of the top 100 nationally in 2019.
Nine vaginal mesh cases have so far produced verdicts totaling more than $347 million against Johnson & Johnson. And, most recently, the firm won an $8 billion punitive damages verdict against J&J in a case involving Risperdal, an anti-psychotic drug linked to the growth of female breast tissue in boys. That verdict was the largest in Pennsylvania history.
In the Ford case, Specter won a $153 million verdict, including compensatory and punitive damages in a lawsuit against Ford Motor Co. The verdict was the second-largest product liability verdict in U.S. history at the time. A later trial in the case yielded a $52 million verdict.
Kline & Specter was named the No. 1 Product Liability Law Firm in the United States for 2011-2012 by Best Lawyers, a designation which was announced in U.S. News & World Report. Kline & Specter previously had been named in the “Tier 1” group – the top classification – for Product Liability, one of only 35 firms across the nation selected for that distinction.
His young son was killed by a Ford truck with a defective parking brake. The case went to a $153 million verdict, a $52 million punitive damages jury award on retrial and ultimately a confidential settlement.
The firm, based in Philadelphia, has also gone to court in cases involving a number of products, including unsafe motorcycle helmets (Wandel) and medical devices (Dalkon). The firm in 2019 won verdicts of $80 million and $120 million against J&J subsidiary Ethicon Inc. over vaginal mesh products that caused injuries to women surgically implanted with the devices. Earlier, Tom Kline doggedly pursued a case (Blum) against drug manufacturer Merrell Dow over 16 years.
Kline & Specter has handled a wide range of product liability litigation – with cases including a defective cafeteria table (Cozzolino), a hazardous escalator (Hall v. SEPTA). It litigates some product liability cases on a Mass Tort basis, including: pharmaceuticals such as Vioxx, in which the firm was a leader in the $4.85 billion lawsuit settlement; medical products and devices such as denture creams, transvaginal mesh implants and defective pacemakers and defibrillators; and dangerous toys and child products such as cribs, strollers and baby slings.
With AUTOMOBILE cases, among problem products are those involving defective airbags, lap belts and parking brakes and vehicles prone to rollovers, such as SUVs and 15-passenger vans.
Tom Kline and Shanin Specter have been selected among the World's Leading Product Liability Lawyers by Expert Guides, publisher of guides to internationally recognized attorneys.
Schedule a Review of Your Product Liability Case
Kline & Specter PC, a Philadelphia-based law firm with more than 50 experienced attorneys, is ready to discuss your case and provide representation if you need it. Call us at 800-243-1100 to speak with an experienced attorney or complete an online contact form and our office will be in touch with you!
Determining Whether a Product is Defective
A product is defective if it has a design defect, a manufacturing defect, or a defect in marketing. Design defects are problems in the design that cause injury. For example, a toy with the proper marketing information, e.g., “Not for children under 4 years,” is fine when you take it out of the box. After your child plays with it in the manner intended, a piece breaks off and harms the child.
A manufacturing defect is a chemical or physical mistake. The defect doesn’t affect every product in that line. You may have the only product with a manufacturing defect out of thousands. A marketing defect is when an item does not contain danger warnings, such as age restrictions for small pieces that could cause choking if a baby were to play with a toy.
Steps to Take After a Defective Product Injury
After suffering an injury, there are several steps you should take whenever possible. Whether you can do some of the steps depends on the severity of your injury – you may not be able to do anything other than get to the emergency room. Take as many steps as your injury will allow.
- Photographs: Take photos of your injuries and of the defective product. If the defective product was a vehicle that caused an accident, take photos of the entire accident scene.
- Witnesses: If there are witnesses to the incident, collect their contact information. You can ask them what they saw.
- Create a record of the injury: Seek medical attention as quickly as possible. Even if you believe your injuries are minor, seeking medical attention creates a paper trail that could be very important if an injury worsens over the next days or weeks.
- Document the experience: Write down what happened as soon as possible. The longer you wait, the more you tend to forget about the incident. Include the actions you took prior to the incident, as that can help prove that your actions were not the cause of the incident.
Where to Find Representation for a Defective Product Case in Philadelphia, PA
Kline & Specter, PC serves Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and the surrounding areas in Pennsylvania, the Collingswood area in New Jersey, the Wilmington area in Delaware, and New York City and surrounding areas in New York. To find out more about product liability, speak with an attorney at Kline & Specter, PC. To schedule a consultation, please call 800-243-1100.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is the Common Law on Product Liability?
When a product is defective and results in injury, product liability law holds manufacturers, designers and sellers of the product accountable for these injuries.
How Do You Prove a Product Liability Case?
To prove a product liability case, three things are required. They are:
- Proof the product was defective
- Injury or death
- Proof that your injury was a result of the defect
Attorneys will need to prove these three elements to insure your product claim is successful.
Who Is Held Liable for Product Liability?
Parties involved in the making and distribution of the defective product can be held liable for product liability. These parties can include the designer, manufacturer, wholesaler and retailer.
What Is the Burden of Proof for Product Liability?
For product liability cases, our lawyers will have to prove the existence of a defect and provide proof or evidence of the resulting injury or death caused by the defective product.
What to Do if You Are a Victim of a Defective Product
If you suffered injuries or lost a loved one due to a defective product, you can take legal action against the manufacturer. While the money doesn’t remove the pain and suffering or bring back a loved one, it does make it easier for you to provide for yourself and your family when you lose income due to your injuries.
Whether it was food, toys, a medical device, prescription drugs, or another item with a defect that caused you harm, you can bring a product liability action – either through settling or litigating – to recover the compensation you deserve.