Our office represents people injured throughout the State of Oregon against corporations, manufacturers, and retailers who have sold or manufactured unsafe products for profit.
“Products”, legally speaking, include a wide range of categories, including:
- Machinery
- Tools
- Medicine and drugs
- Medical devices
- Toxic chemicals and substances, such as asbestos
- Motor vehicles
- Motor vehicle parts, such as tires and brakes
- Household products and appliances
- Toys and recreational equipment
- Clothing
Defective Product Injuries — Past Case Example #1
Jonah Johansen. As an infant just able to crawl, Jonah suffered nearly catastrophic injury to both hands when he placed them on the steam vent of a Vick’s Vaporizer. The manufacturer, KAZ Corporation, had 70% of the world’s vaporizer market, and had been manufacturing essentially the same machine for more than 70 years, a machine which emitted steam at 212˚ F, hot enough to destroy flesh instantly. Jonah’s parents had carefully read the instructions, which advised them to place the vaporizer on the floor.
Jonah Johansen and his mother
Once we took the case, we sought to discover what other injuries had been caused by these machines. We took the videotaped deposition of the chief engineer at KAZ, Robert Girard, who testified that he kept records of prior injuries, but that he had “discarded them” — threw them away — once they were two years old. He explained that they were taking up “too much space.” We took a break, Girard met with the defense attorney, and when he returned, he admitted that injury files going back more than 15 years were still in his possession!
When we reviewed those files, they showed that KAZ knew of more than 50 severe burns from their vaporizers, just in recent years. Based on the number of injuries and the attempts to conceal the evidence, the Court allowed us to request millions of dollars in punitive damages to punish KAZ for gross misconduct.
Perhaps most importantly, as the trial date approached, Kaz Corporation introduced a new design for all of its vaporizers, reducing the temperature of the steam from 212˚ F to 155˚ F. It took the threat of punitive damages to get them to make this remarkably simple improvement, after 70 years of burning kids.
The case settled for an undisclosed amount after more than a week of trial.
Defective Product Injuries — Past Case Example #2
C.S. was at Oaks Park skating rink when one of the skates she had rented from the park fell apart, causing a fall which required knee surgery. We sued for breach of warranty, and the case settled for a confidential amount.
Defective Product Injuries — Past Case Example #3
R.A., 11, was sitting in a large inner tube being pulled behind a small boat on the Willamette River when he was struck by a jet ski manufactured by Bombardier, Inc. His skull was severely fractured, and a large part of his brain was exposed. The insurance coverage for the jet ski operator was trivial compared to the magnitude of the injury, but we discovered that a huge number of injuries had been caused by similar jet skis because of the failure of the manufacturer to install a rudder. Lacking a rudder, the jet ski – and most of those made by other manufactures, as well – could only be steered when the throttle was on, and the natural instinct of operators is to take their hands off the throttle as soon as they see danger ahead. We sued Bombardier as well as the driver, and were eventually able to work out a confidential settlement.