Manufacturers may have to abide by a dizzying number of regulations before they can put their products on the market in the United States, but sometimes dangerous products slip through. And when they do, consumers can be badly injured.
Recently, the FDA issued a warning against using certain electric heating pads. The pads, sold under the brand name Mighty Bliss, can cause burns, electric shocks, rashes and more, according to the FDA.
Whele LLC, the manufacturer of the Mighty Bliss heating pads, recently issued a recall of nearly 500,000 of the devices because of safety concerns. The heating pads were sold through huge online retailers such as Amazon and Walmart.com between July 2021 and July 2022.
The FDA instructed all consumers to immediately stop using the heating pads after receiving more than 280 complaints from consumers who said the devices overheated. More than 30 consumers reported being burned by the heating pads.
Products liability
Products liability is a legal theory that allows consumers to recover compensation after they have been injured due to a defective product. This area of the law can encompass products as diverse as toys, automotive parts and medical implants.
The Texas products liability statute allows injured consumers to recover compensation not only from the manufacturer of the product that harmed them, but also from the retailer that sold it to them.
It’s also important to note that defects can be introduced at many stages in the process of a product’s journey to the consumer. Some defects occur at the design stage, meaning the product is dangerously defective as designed. Other defects occur when something in the manufacturing process renders a product unsafe. And some defects come about in marketing the product — for instance, when faulty instructions lead to consumers being injured by the product.
This is a complicated area of the law, but experienced attorneys can help the injured understand how it might apply to the facts of their case.
