Product Liability

In this informative video, California trial attorney Mike Danko explains the fundamental principles of product liability law and the rights of consumers injured by dangerous goods. From household appliances to complex medical devices and automobiles, manufacturers have a legal obligation to ensure their products are safe for their intended use.

Mike breaks down the unique advantages of California’s strict liability doctrine, which allows victims to recover damages without necessarily proving corporate negligence—only that the product was defective. The video details the three primary types of actionable defects: design defects, manufacturing defects, and failure to warn (marketing defects).

Litigating against global manufacturers requires significant financial resources and specialized knowledge. Danko Meredith is a premier personal injury firm with a proven track record of securing justice in complex product liability cases. By leveraging a network of world-class engineers and scientists, we provide the authoritative representation needed to win against well-funded corporate legal teams. If you or a loved one has suffered a catastrophic injury due to a defective product, contact our Redwood City office for a free case evaluation.

Contact Danko Meredith today for a free consultation. You pay nothing unless they win your case.

 

Key Takeaways

  1. Deep Expertise in California “Strict Liability”: Mike Danko demonstrates a profound understanding of California-specific legal doctrines that favor the consumer, explaining how the firm uses “strict liability” to hold manufacturers accountable even when negligence is hard to prove.
  2. Resource-Heavy Advocacy: The firm highlights that product liability cases are “expensive and difficult,” signaling to potential clients that Danko Meredith possesses the necessary capital and infrastructure to sustain a long-term legal battle against “the biggest corporations in the world.”
  3. Strategic Use of Expert Testimony: Success in these cases hinges on technical evidence. By working with top-tier engineers, scientists, and medical professionals, the firm ensures every case is built on a foundation of scientific authority and irrefutable proof.
  4. Categorical Legal Knowledge: The breakdown of design, manufacturing, and warning defects illustrates the firm’s ability to identify the specific legal “failure point” in a product’s lifecycle, ensuring the correct litigation strategy is applied from day one.
  5. Focus on Catastrophic Outcomes: The firm’s focus is on “catastrophic injuries and death,” positioning them as specialists in high-stakes litigation where the recovery must sustain a victim’s needs for a lifetime.

 

Transcript

When we buy a product, we have a right to expect that it’s going to be safe. Whether it’s an automobile, a kitchen appliance, or a piece of medical equipment, if it’s used for its intended purpose, it shouldn’t hurt us. But unfortunately, many products are put onto the market with defects that can cause catastrophic injuries or even death.

In California, the law of product liability is very favorable to the consumer. We have what’s called ‘strict liability.’ That means that if a product is defective and it causes an injury, the manufacturer or the seller is responsible for the damages, whether or not they were actually negligent in the way they designed or manufactured the product.

There are basically three ways a product can be defective. One is a design defect—that’s where the product is just designed in a way that’s inherently dangerous. Two is a manufacturing defect—that’s where the design is fine, but something went wrong in the factory. And three is a ‘failure to warn’—that’s where there’s a danger associated with the product that isn’t obvious, and the manufacturer didn’t give the consumer an adequate warning.

Product liability cases are very expensive and very difficult to win. They require a lot of expert testimony. You have to hire engineers, scientists, and medical experts to prove that the product was defective and that the defect caused the injury. At Danko Meredith, we have the resources to take on the biggest corporations in the world and hold them accountable when their products hurt people.