Product Liability
Helping you move decisively to navigate obstacles and minimize risk
Capabilities at a glance
- Preparedness and proactive advice are our guiding principles. We will help you manage risk strategically to bring the likelihood of litigation down to a minimum and maximize success in the courtroom when litigation arises.
- Rapid, targeted response when product recall or liability issues occur. We know from experience that moving quickly and effectively can make all the difference.
- Highly skilled defense lawyers with significant courtroom experience and in-depth technical knowledge to help you develop winning case strategies.
- The resources of a national firm combined with local knowledge. We have developed an extensive national network of skilled, local attorneys and expert witnesses.
Proactive legal support from leading product liability attorneys
Addressing product liability risk and navigating recalls is all about being well prepared. That’s why the Quarles Product Liability Practice Group takes a holistic approach: We work closely with our clients to “fix the roof while the sun shines,” identifying and rectifying potential liabilities before they arise to minimize the likelihood of legal action. With the right legal counsel, these issues can be managed before lawsuits are even filed. And when litigation does occur, an aggressive, competent and efficient defense team can significantly reduce the expenses associated with case administration, lost productivity and potentially large judgments or settlements. Our team has the national experience, knowledge, resources and proven methods to help manufacturers identify product liability issues and concerns, take corrective action and mount a strong defense both inside and outside the courtroom.
Diverse product liability knowledge across jurisdictions and industries
Our Product Liability team is composed of experienced trial lawyers who have successfully handled cases in virtually all states and numerous federal courts across the country. We have represented a broad range of manufacturers, distributors, lessors, insurers and others in both straightforward and complex cases that run the gamut of product liability, toxic tort, class action and breach of warranty matters. We also understand from our broad product experience that both liability avoidance and litigation itself can vary depending on the product type involved; our attorneys have worked on a truly diverse range of product liability cases, including everything from agricultural equipment to personal watercraft, automobiles to beverages, and cigarette lighters to medical devices.
Experience
- National counsel for a diverse portfolio of clients and products
- Recalls
- Warnings and instructions
- Warranty advice
- Working with agencies, such as the Consumer Product Safety Commission
- Risk avoidance, risk management and preventative advice
- Product safety audits
- Disaster response and public relations
- Alternative dispute resolution (ADR)
- Lemon law
Successes
- The Quarles Product Liability team completed a nine-day trial in California, where we achieved an extremely favorable outcome for a fitness equipment manufacturer. The case involved a plaintiff claiming injury due to a design defect in a piece of fitness equipment and a lack of inspection and maintenance by the fitness club. The plaintiff had over $400,000 in past and future medical expenses, and the final pretrial demand was in the seven figures. At the close of evidence, and knowing that a defense verdict was likely, the plaintiff dropped his settlement demand to 1% of his final pretrial demand, in consideration for a dismissal with prejudice and a waiver of costs. While the client would have liked to have taken the case to verdict, the demand was simply too low to pass up and a settlement agreement would eliminate the possibility of an appeal.
- In the first post-COVID civil trial in Maricopa County, Ariz., our Product Liability team secured a defense verdict in a case where a motorcycle rider and his passenger suffered severe permanent orthopedic and brain injuries in a collision with another vehicle. Plaintiffs claimed the collision was caused by the pre-impact failure of a suspension component on the motorcycle; the defense maintained the suspension component was damaged in the collision. Through our legal team’s effective use of metallurgical, vehicle dynamics and accident reconstruction experts, the jury found in favor of the defense in the face of a $50 million demand.
