Defective Product Injuries and Manufacturer Liability

 Posted on December 00,0000 in Personal Injury Lawsuits

A frightening recall for parents was recently announced by Beech-Nut Nutrition, the makers of Beech-Nut baby food. The company is recalling approximately 2,000 pounds of baby food after receiving a report of an oral injury caused by a glass shard found in one of its products.

According to an announcement from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the company is recalling only one of its baby food products, the four ounce jars of Stage 2 Beech-Nut CLASSICS sweet potato and chicken. The affected jars contain the number “P-68A” inside the mark of inspection from the USDA, as well as any product numbers between 12395750815 and 12395750821. The jars all have an expiration date of December 2016 and were sold nationwide.

Under Illinois law, a person who is injured by a defective product can bring a lawsuit against the manufacturer if they can prove one of the following factors existed:

• The defect in the product violated a warranty created by the words or actions of the seller. This is known as a breach of expressed warranty.
• Although there was not an expressed warranty, there may have been an implied warranty. An implied warranty is one in which the seller implies that if the buyer uses the product as it is intended to be used, then the product will not harm the buyer. This is referred to as a breach of implied warranty.
• There was a defect in the design or production of the product, or the manufacturer failed to provide adequate warnings of possible injury. This is referred to as strict product liability.
• The manufacturer or distributors were not careful when handling the products and this caused the buyer’s injury. This is known as negligence.

If a product proves to be defective or dangerous, then a product recall is used to alert the public about the potential for injury. Unfortunately, in the majority of cases, such as the Beech-Nut baby food recall, injuries have already been sustained by victims, and that is what triggers the recall.

If you have been injured by a defective product, contact an experienced Lake County injury attorney to find out what legal options you may have. Call the attorneys at Salvi & Maher, P.C. today at 847-662-3303.