products liability

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Respondents Roberta G. Devries and Shirley McAfee (“Devries and McAfee”) separately filed suit in Pennsylvania state court, alleging that their deceased husbands, John B. Devries and Kenneth McAfee, had contracted cancer after being exposed to asbestos...

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A consumer expectations test is a standard used for determining if a design defect exists in a products liability tort case. The consumer expectation test imposes a liability on the seller of a product if the product is in a defective...

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A design defect means that the product was manufactured correctly, but the defect is inherent in the design of the product itself, which makes the product dangerous to consumers. For example, mechanical defects, which are common in cars and...

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In the law of products liability, a manufacturing defect is a defect in a product that was not intended. This kind of defect occurs when a product departs from its intended design and is more dangerous than consumers expect the product to be.

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In 1950, Jesse Williams began smoking cigarettes and eventually smoked three packs a day of Marlboros, which are manufactured and marketed by Philip Morris USA Inc. (“Philip Morris”). See Brief for Petitioner, Philip Morris USA Inc. at 2. Jesse...

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Jesse Williams died from cancer as a result of smoking Philip Morris brand cigarettes for over forty years. Williams v. Philip Morris, 340 Or. 35, 38 (2006). His widow brought suit against Philip Morris in Oregon State Court. Id. She alleged that as a...

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Overview

Products liability refers to the liability of any or all parties along the chain of manufacture of any product for damage caused by that product. This includes the manufacturer of component parts (at the top of the chain), an assembling...

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In 1996, Dr. Eric Roccario attempted to unclog a "diffusely diseased" and "heavily calcified" artery supplying Charles Riegel's heart. See Riegel v. Medtronic, Inc., 451 F.3d 104, 107 (2d Cir. 2006). When several attempts using other devices failed, Dr...