Product Liability/Dangerous Products

Product cases we have handled

Coffey and Nichols has handled product liability claims involving products as diverse as ATVs, industrial foam, dietary supplements, hand sanitizer, furniture, medical catheters, metal on metal hips, and surgical meshes. Because of confidentiality agreements, we can’t tell you about all of our results, but here are some details we can share:

Case Examples | CASE 1  CASE 2  CASE 3

Significant Factors in a Product Liability Claim

Significant factors include the history of the product, any changes, repairs or upgrades to the product, our ability to identify the manufacturer and distributors of the product, the way you handled or used the product, what you knew about its danger, what the defendant knew about the danger, and the relationship between the danger in the product and your injury.

Missouri Statutes Regarding Strict Products Liability

Missouri has statutes affecting the type of product liability known as strict liability, covering such things as dismissal of a distributor under certain conditions, state of the art as a complete defense only in strict liability failure to warn actions, and the application of pure comparative fault to strict product liability claims. Missouri Revised Statutes §537.760 – §537.765

Statute of Limitations for Products Claims

In general, product liability lawsuits in Missouri must be brought within 5 years of when the plaintiff knew or should have known that the product caused their injuries. Missouri Revised Statutes §516.120(4); §516.100; ^1,2. When a dangerous product causes death, the case is brought under the Wrongful Death Act, which almost always requires the case to be brought within 3 years of death. Missouri Revised Statutes §537.100.³

If you are hurt by a dangerous product, like a machine, a medical device or a consumer product, first take care of your health. If you can, you or your lawyer should try to get and hold onto the product without changing it. If you can’t do that, try to get pictures showing the danger before it is changed. Take pictures if you can, of the product, and of the scene. If there are markings on the product showing the manufacture, make, model or lot numbers, get pictures of those too. Try to jot those down if you can’t take pictures. If the product is something being taken out of you surgically, you or your lawyer should ask the surgeon and the pathology department of the hospital to photograph and hold on to anything they take out of you — like mesh or a bad joint replacement. Keep any documents related to your use or purchase of the product.

Also try to get names and contact information of any witnesses and ask for copies of any reports or investigations that are being done. Keep or photograph documents like purchase documents, manuals, warnings, labels, model names and product numbers, and instructions for use.

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