The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission has advised that there are 200-300 product recalls annually. Surprisingly, many of these product recalls are children's toys and products. Also according to the CPSC, defective products cause over 29 million injuries and approximately 22,000 fatalities in the U.S. annually.

Other common product recalls due to defects or dangerous factors include motor vehicles, tires, furniture, appliances, tools and safety equipment. These recalled products which were designed for our safe use can cause mild to severe personal injury such as brain injury, spinal cord injury, paralysis, blindness, scarring, pain, suffering and even death.

Typically, product recalls are the result of faulty product research conducted by the product’s manufacturer.

When a product is found to cause undue injury to the consumer it is considered a defective product. Any manufactured product which has not been properly tested and/or inspected has the potential of being a defective product.

However, this does not mean that all manufactured product related accidents are eligible for personal injury lawsuits. For instance, if you cut yourself with a knife while using it properly, you cannot file a personal injury claim. However, if your personal injury was caused by the knife breaking during use, you then have the evidence to pursue a product liability lawsuit.

See Also: Defective Products

There are many reasons that defective products end up on store shelves and can eventually be subjected to product recall. Design defects in products cause millions of injuries each year. Design defects happen before the product is created.

Manufacturers discover these design defects after products have been distributed and, therefore, have to initiate a product recall. Unfortunately, product recalls often happen too late and product owners may never hear of the recall.

Product manufacturing defects result from mistakes that take place during the actual manufacturing of the product and the defect may not occur in every product that comes off the line.

Products with manufacturing defects are often the subject of a product recall only after it has caused personal injury.

Inadequate testing is another very common reason for product recalls, especially in the automotive industry. Most manufacturers test vehicles for seat belt effectiveness, stability in a crash and other elements at a mere 40 miles per hour in front end crashes. However, most automobile accidents occur at high speeds, typically in rear end or side angle crashes. Therefore, these tests are not inconclusive and an automotive product recall may result.

If you believe that a defect product is responsible for your personal injury and you have questions about product recalls, you should contact an experienced personal injury lawyer with knowledge of product recalls and defective products to assist you in your possible claim.

A product liability attorney can assist you in reviewing the facts of your possible claim as well as help you receive the compensation to which you are entitled.

If you, or a loved one, have been involved in any type of accident resulting from a possible product defect in Kansas or Missouri, please do not hesitate to contact our office for a free consultation and case evaluation.