Why Does Your Company Need Product Liability Insurance?
Could these incidents happen to your company?
Case 1 (Negligent manufacturing - US$ 1.3 million)
A Hong Kong clothing manufacturer sold his products to a store in Wisconsin, USA. A child was severely burned while wearing one of the clothing products, causing the parents to sue both the store and the manufacturer.
The manufacturer argued that a Wisconsin court had no jurisdiction over him. But, the court ruled that foreign manufacturers were subject to Wisconsin 's liability laws, if they knew or should have known that their products might be used in Wisconsin.
Case 2 (Lack of proper labelling settlement – US$ 27 million)
A two-year-old child suffered cardiac arrest and brain damage from an electric-powered TV timer. The parents sued, because the timer carried no warning that it was "live". The Japanese manufacturer contested the suit in New York courts, but after ten years they agreed to pay US$ 27 million. They were covered by liability insurance.
Product Liability Insurance
These two cases illustrate the need for Liability Insurance to protect a company against third-party legal suits. ACE Insurance or our principle insurers will customize our Liability Insurance products to suit your company's needs.
Civil Liability In a civil lawsuit, if a party is found to be at fault, that party is liable. This is equivalent to a guilty verdict in the criminal system, except that civil liability usually means that the party at fault pays money damages to the other party, whereas the guilty party in a criminal suit may have to go to prison. 民事责任 在民事官司,如果一方被发现有过错的,该当事人的责任。 这相当于一个在刑事系统有罪判决,除了民事赔偿责任通常意味着有过错的一方支付金钱赔偿给对方,而在刑事诉讼有罪的一方可能要进监狱。 Compensatory Damages Damages awarded to plaintiffs in order to restore them to the position they were in prior to being wronged. 损害赔偿 向原告赔偿金,以恢复他们的地位,他们在之前被冤枉了。 Discovery A pre-trial phase in which both parties must exchange all information relevant to the case - often in the form of records, depositions, and other documents - so that each side can fully prepare its case for trial. 发现 预审阶段,在双方交换的所有信息必须与案件有关的 - 往往在记录,证词及其他文件的形式 - 使双方能够充分准备的情况下受审。 Immunity Legislation In response to municipal lawsuits filed against the gun industry, many states have filed bills that make those lawsuits - both present and potential future suits - illegal. When such a bill becomes law it is referred to as Immunity Legislation because it protects the firearms industry from civil liability. 免疫立法 在回答对市政枪产业提出诉讼,许多国家已经提交法案,使这些诉讼 - 无论是现在还是将来可能的诉讼-非法。 当这样的法案成为法律,它被称为免疫立法因为它保护枪械行业的民事赔偿责任。
Litigation
A lawsuit. 诉讼 提起诉讼。 Municipal Litigation This term applies to lawsuits filed by cities and counties around the country against the firearms industry. These lawsuits represent an attempt to hold the industry financially liable for the costs of gun violence. Type text or a website address or translate a document. Cancel 市政诉讼 该术语适用于全国各地提交的城市和县对枪支行业诉讼。 Negligence Negligence occurs when someone breaches some sort of duty to another person, causing some kind of injury to that person. For example, every driver on the road has a general duty to other drivers and pedestrians to drive reasonably. If, for example, a driver breaches that duty by speeding excessively and causing an accident, that driver may be found negligent. 疏忽 疏忽发生当有人对其他人违反某些义务,对那个人造成一些伤害。疏忽发生当有人对其他人违反某些义务,对那个人造成一些伤害。例如,道路上的每一个司机需要合理的驾驶对其他司机和行人的一般职责。如果,例如,一名司机因超速驾驶违反了他的职责,司机可能会被疏忽负责。 Negligent Distribution/Marketing Negligent distribution or marketing occurs when a company breaches a general duty to the public to exercise reasonable care when distributing its products. In regard to the gun industry lawsuits, some cities are claiming that manufacturers should be held liable for breaching a duty to the public by marketing their products in such a way that it was reasonably foreseeable that the guns would end up in the hands of unauthorized users. As an example, some cities cite the gun industry's failure to investigate the background of distributors and retail sellers of their firearms, as well as evidence that the gun industry saturated some markets in order to create illegal secondary markets. 分布/市场营销疏忽
Negligent entrustment occurs when someone entrusts another with a dangerous article even though the lender knows or should know that the recipient is likely to use it in a way that poses a risk of harm to others. Some lawsuits have been brought against firearms retailers for selling guns to people who were intoxicated, extremely agitated, or in some other condition that would lead any reasonable person to believe that the purchaser intended to use the gun to harm someone.
Pending
Lawsuits that have been filed and are awaiting further action. Lawsuits must go through a phase called Discovery, in which both parties exchange all relevant information, before a trial can begin. Most lawsuits are settled out of court before reaching trial.
Normally preemption occurs when the laws of one level of government nullify the laws of a lower level of government. The current Immunity Legislation efforts by some states have put a new twist on preemption because those states are trying to nullify the lawsuits of lower levels of government, not the laws. It is unclear at this time whether it is constitutional to stretch the doctrine of preemption in this way.
Product Liability
A manufacturer of a product may be held liable for damage caused by that product if it was somehow defective, to the point that it was unreasonably dangerous to the consumer. A product can be defective in 3 ways:
When one particular product out of many like products has a flaw that makes it unreasonably dangerous, it is said to have a manufacturing defect. For example, if one particular toy from an assembly line of identical toys has an unexpected flaw, such as a loose part making it unreasonably dangerous for children, this is a manufacturing defect.
If the actual design of a product makes it unreasonably dangerous, then every product with that design is defective. For example, the poor design of the Ford Pinto is what made it defective, and because the design was common to all Pintos, they were all defective in design. Applied to firearms litigation, plaintiffs allege that because the design of the gun manufacturers' products did not incorporate available and inexpensive safety features to prevent their use by unauthorized users, the products are therefore defective because they are unreasonably dangerous to the consumer.
A defendant may be liable for not adequately warning of a product's risk if that risk was known or knowable in light of the best scientific knowledge available at the time of the manufacture. The plaintiffs in the municipal firearms lawsuits argue that the high risk of injuries that might result from the fact that no indicator warns the user if there is a bullet in the chamber of a gun, and that guns can fire even when their magazines are removed, is well-known. They argue that because the gun industry does not adequately warn of this known risk, they should be held liable for failing to warn consumers.
Manufacturing Defect
Design Defect
Information Defect/Failure to Warn
Public Nuisance
Conduct becomes a public nuisance when it substantially interferes with public health, safety, or convenience. In regard to the gun industry lawsuits, some cities are claiming that the gun industry has saturated metropolitan areas with firearms allowing for their use by unauthorized users, resulting in violent crimes and accidents that undermine the public health.
Punitive Damages
This term refers to damages awarded to a plaintiff over and above compensatory damages, designed to punish the defendant for particularly outrageous and malicious conduct, and to serve as a deterrent to others.
Settlement
An arrangement by which parties in dispute come to an agreement, usually involving some type of compromise exchange of valued things. Over 90% of all lawsuits are settled out of court before a trial ever takes place.
Straw Purchases
This term refers to situations in which authorized firearms purchasers, those capable of passing background checks, buy firearms for unauthorized purchasers.
Summary Judgment
In a civil action, any party may make this procedural motion, after the Discovery phase, to dispose of the suit before trial has begun. If a defendant files a summary judgment motion, that essentially means that, given all of the facts, the defendant believes that the plaintiff's case is too weak to go to trial, and the suit should be thrown out.
Unfair Business/Trade Practices
Refers to generally dishonest or fraudulent business practices that result in injury to the consumer. Applied to the gun industry lawsuits, some cities argue that the gun industry should be liable for unfair business practices because it deceived and made misrepresentations to the public through the marketing and advertisement of its products.
Unjust Enrichment
The general principle of unjust enrichment is that one person should not be able unjustly to enrich himself at the expense of another. Those cities that argue that the gun industry has unjustly enriched itself at the expense of their communities base this claim on the negative effects gun violence has had upon their emergency medical services, police services, public health resources, etc. They basically assert that because the gun industry has been making money off of the sale of its products while communities have suffered in terms of both physical injuries and public health costs, it is time for the industry to pay restitution to the cities.
The Malaysian Association of Standards Users (or Standards Users) is a non government organisation which is affiliated to the Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations or FOMCA. Standards Users was established in September 2004, with the support and assistance from the Department of Standards Malaysia (or Standards Malaysia) - and agency under the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI).
V-Soft, Inc. the leading provider of CRM software and services announced today the launch of a recall management software solution for manufacturers and distributors.
Feb 28, 2010, 9:53 PM
Simon Poon
Policy Wordings
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DocumentsHandler_PUBLIC LIABILITY AND PRODUCTS LIABILITY View
ASIB Insurance Malaysia- Public Liability & Product Liability Policy Wordings
A boutique owner won her negligence suit against a beauty centre for the scalding she suffered while being treated in a jacuzzi tub. (精品赢得业主的反对而被烫伤,她在按摩浴缸对待她的疏忽而遭受美容中心起诉。)Seorang pemilik butik memenangi tuntutan kelalaiannya terhadap pusat kecantikan untuk panas dia menderita saat dirawat di tab jakuzi.
May 22, 2011, 11:50 AM
Simon Poon
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How to File a Class Action Lawsuit? 如何提起集体诉讼?Bagaimana Memfailkan Tuntutan yang Tindakan Kelas? View
How to File a Class Action Lawsuit? 如何提起集体诉讼?Bagaimana Memfailkan Tuntutan yang Tindakan Kelas?
China seized 100 tonnes of melamine-laced milk powder View
BEIJING (Reuters) - China has seized more than 100 tonnes of melamine-contaminated milk powder in its northern provinces, state media reported late Friday, the latest case of food safety problems in the world's most populous country.
ISO/PC 240, Product recall was established following an initiative of ISO/COPOLCO, the ISO Committee on consumer policy, which noted that ineffective product recalls of damaged or unsafe products have resulted in millions of people being injured – sometimes fatally – or becoming ill.
Dec 7, 2010, 7:19 PM
Simon Poon
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M’sia needs law to recall defective cars: CAP View
The worsening problem of defective vehicles on the road can only be addressed if the Government sets up a mandatory Recall System and Recall Code of Practice to check the vehicles.
The following 7 pages are in this category, out of 7 total. This list may not reflect recent changes (learn more).
May 15, 2010, 8:48 AM
Simon Poon
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What China's tainted milk may not bring: lawsuits View
Li Fangping, a prominent human rights lawyer, is busy organizing victims of the poisoned infant formula scandal rocking China and offering pro bono help. But he is not planning to sue Sanlu, the formula manufacturer – not yet.
May 15, 2010, 9:20 AM
Simon Poon
Product Recall News
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China Made Cadbury Chocolates Tainted With Melamine View
Cadbury, the famous chocolates maker had earlier recalled 11 chocolate types, including Dairy Milk chocolate from mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Australia because of fears of melamine contamination and as a precautionary step pending further supply of fresh product.
China has ordered food safety officials nationwide to step up the fight against "gutter oil" that is illegally skimmed from kitchen waste and resold, part of a government crackdown on foods tainted with potentially lethal substances.
Hong Kong has recalled dairy products made by a company implicated in the contaminated milk scandal that has caused four deaths in China.
Mar 2, 2010, 10:06 AM
Simon Poon
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Hyundai recalls 515 vehicles in US over airbag defect View
SEOUL: Hyundai Motor Co said Tuesday it is voluntarily recalling 515 sport-utility vehicles in the United States over a defect in the airbag system, Yonhap reported.
NEW YORK - Johnson & Johnson said on Wednesday it is recalling 9 million more bottles of its Tylenol painkiller because they do not adequately warn customers about the presence of trace amounts of alcohol used in the product flavorings.
SEOUL: The top executive at Kia Motors has resigned after the company issued a global recall for tens of thousands of vehicles over defective wiring, the automaker said Tuesday.
Sep 6, 2010, 10:48 PM
Simon Poon
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Mazda3, Mazda5 cars recalled for steering problems View
Mazda Motor Corp. is recalling more than 300,000 Mazda3 and Mazda5 vehicles in North America to repair problems with the power-steering system that could lead to crashes, a problem the automaker dealt with in Japan a year ago.
Aug 18, 2010, 7:44 AM
Simon Poon
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Melamine: Biscuit maker ordered to recall tainted products View
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Published: Monday October 20, 2008 MYT 5:01:00 PM
Updated: Monday October 20, 2008 MYT 8:17:06 PM
Melamine: Biscuit maker ordered to recall tainted products
By HAMDAN RAJA ABDULLAH
(SOLON, Ohio) - June 19th, 2009 - Nestlé USA's Baking Division is initiating a voluntary recall of Nestlé® TOLL HOUSE® refrigerated cookie dough products. Nestlé is taking this action out of an abundance of caution after being notified that the Food and Drug Administration, together with the Centers for Disease Control, are conducting an investigation into reported E. coli 0157:H7 illnesses that may be related to consumption of raw cookie dough.
IKEA has received two customer reports where the zip bottom stop has detached from the zipper which also makes it possible for the zip slider to detach. Both parts could present a choking hazard to small children. No injuries have been reported.
The cause of the failure was poor quality of the zipper. We have stopped sales and production of BARNSLIG sleeping bags and we are now reviewing our routines to secure the quality of BARNSLIG.
Nov 21, 2009, 11:57 PM
Simon Poon
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Recalls, Market Withdrawals, & Safety Alerts-US FDA View
This section includes the most significant product actions over the last five years based on the extent of distribution and the degree of health risk. In this section, you will find a listing of FDA and industry press releases regarding the product recalls.
Mar 2, 2010, 10:07 AM
Simon Poon
Product Recall News - Malaysia
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Recall of a specialty soluble coffee range in 100g glass jars View
STATEMENT fot the Recall of a specialty soluble coffee range in 100g glass jars
Dec 7, 2010, 7:16 PM
Simon Poon
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Recall of a specialty soluble coffee range in 100g glass jars View
It recently came to our attention that a specific type of 100g glass jar of the Alta Rica, Alta Rica Decaff, Cap Colombie, Suraya and Espresso soluble coffee range – specialty varieties of Nescafé - could break during the delivery process to our customers and could therefore contain small pieces of glass. However, Nestlé Malaysia only imports the Alta Rica range.
PETALING JAYA: The recall of 15,911 of Proton Holdings Bhd’s Gen.2 and Satria Neo models made between 2004 and 2008 due to a clock spring malfunction is likely to cost the company an estimated RM5mil, according to analysts.
First step for ISO standard on recall of unsafe products View
ISO/PC 240, Product recall, decided on a publication target of 2012 for the new standard (ISO 10393). ISO/PC 240 also resolved to harmonize efforts with other ISO committees developing standards for consumer product safety (ISO/PC 243), anti-counterfeiting (ISO/PC 246) and combatting fraud (ISO/TC 247).
Importance of MSDS Compliance
EH&S (Environmental Health & Safety) professionals are continuously asked to do more with fewer resources. The demands for staying compliant are getting more difficult no matter what industry you’re in or how big your organization. Managing your chemical inventory and training your employees on how to evaluate and avoid risks from hazards is critical to your business.
TGA - safeguarding public health & safety in Australia by regulating medicines, medical devices, blood & tissues
Nov 22, 2009, 12:00 AM
Simon Poon
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Recalls, Market Withdrawals, & Safety Alerts-US FDA View
This section includes the most significant product actions over the last five years based on the extent of distribution and the degree of health risk. In this section, you will find a listing of FDA and industry press releases regarding the product recalls.