Insurance for Product Liability
Government statistics show that product liability cases represent only 0.002% of lawsuits filed yearly, far outnumbered by new traffic related filings. However business liability lawsuits represent 11% and many of these may involve product liability along with business service liability. It is estimated that just 10% of the people injured by dangerous and defective products actually file a lawsuit for compensation. With statistics such as these, is there really a need for product liability protection?
Definitely yes. When a product liability lawsuit is filed it is generally for damages, involves medical care and loss of earnings and the possibility of loss to a business or individual is huge. Also, there are multitudes of attorneys who specialize in liability, most of whom will work for a percentage of the verdict. With this kind of encouragement, liability lawsuits are an ever-present threat to the product retailer and manufacturer.
It is heartbreaking when an accident involves a child and many lawsuits involve child related articles. It is important to recompense these victims and to indentify and remove an unsafe article from the market to protect the child population. Many product liability lawsuits and wrongful death cases involve toys, bicycles, unsafe cribs and bedding, which must be flame retardant. Another area of child safety involves automobile air bag injuries and the improper construction or use of child seats and harnesses. Certainly retailers and manufactures of these types of product must have adequate product liability insurance.
Every manufacturer of every type of product must carry product liability insurance. Hundreds of claims have recently been filed regarding exploding Dell laptop computers. In this case, the liability insurance must be adequate to cover the claims, and recompense the Dell Corporation for loss of revenue due to the publicity.
Of course, software giant Microsoft is not immune to liability claims and a class action lawsuit has been in California filed that contends that Microsoft engaged in unfair business practices and violated consumer protection laws by selling software riddled with security flaws. The lawsuit seeks to use the court system to make software subject to product liability regulations and to govern the industry, to some extent.
The current practice of selling a customer license that allows use of the programs, rather than actually own it, together with a stringent disclaimer, has allowed software makers to sidestep regulation by product liability law. The lawsuit states that Microsoft's Windows operating system, which runs 90 percent of all personal computers in the world, is poorly designed, flaw-ridden, and riddled with security flaws, and therefore is a contributor to, and responsible for, identity theft.
by Sally.Anderson 19 years ago