Products Liability

We serve as counsel for manufacturing companies that produce thousands of products, including chemicals, pharmaceuticals, building materials, passenger cars, light and heavy-duty trucks, motorcycles, fork lifts, ATV’s, bicycles, appliances, hand tools, and industrial machines and equipment.  We have extensive experience in all claims involving passenger cars; light, medium, and heavy trucks; agricultural and industrial equipment; off-road, utility and recreational vehicles including ATVs and golf carts; and motorcycles.

In addition to providing defense of product liability claims, the firm is involved in implementing the procedural framework to handle large or frequent claims arising from alleged recurrent design, manufacturing, and recall problems.  Hall & Evans’ experience addresses not only claims of isolated product defects, but also situations where duplicate or similar claims involve mass produced products.  The firm has also developed a large network of investigators and experts who are capable of providing valuable assistance during investigations and critical trial testimony, and maintains an extensive library and database on experts frequently used by plaintiffs’ counsel that serves as an invaluable resource in defense of product related claims.

A representative summary of types of product claims handled includes:

  • Passenger cars and light trucks: all aspects of design, manufacture, and crashworthiness including seat belts, rollover stability, post collision fuel tank fires, incidents of fuel expulsion, door latch design, sudden acceleration, and brake systems;
  • Pharmaceuticals: warnings and causation;
  • Fork lift trucks: overall design and stability;
  • Industrial machinery: design, guarding, and adequacy of warnings;
  • Computer keyboards: design, ergonomics, and repetitive motion;
  • ATV’s: handling, stability, and adequacy of warnings;
  • Fires/explosions: causation and toxicity of byproducts generated during the course of fires;
  • Hand tools: design, guarding, and adequacy of warnings;
  • Aviation: defense of air carriers, airframe and engine manufacturers, and operators stemming from aircraft accidents;
  • Environmental: defense of manufacturers, transporters, and users of hazardous materials; mass toxic tort claims; hazardous waste sites and underground storage tanks;
  • Motorcycles: handling, stability, leg protection, and general crashworthiness;
  • Bicycles: design, alleged component failure, and accident reconstruction;
  • Medical equipment: design issues, adequacy of warnings, and alleged component failure;
  • Building materials such as paints or windows;
  • Chemicals and insulations, including asbestos;
  • Consumer food products;
  • Consumer products such as hair care items, appliances;
  • Home maintenance equipment such as lawnmowers or snow blowers;
  • Hydraulic machinery, equipment, and tools;
  • Industrial and heavy duty trucks including tractor trailers and trucks with a variety of load carrying bodies.
  • ALFA International
  • Defense Research Institute – DRI
  • Product Liability Advisory Council
  • Sporting Goods Manufacturing Association