What to Do if You are Injured by Product Packaging

Posted Friday, December 31, 2021 by Chris Thayer

If you have fallen victim to a really hard-to-open package, do not feel bad. You are not alone. In fact, approximately 60,000 Americans each year are injured as a result of product packaging. Product packaging often does not receive priority and rushed plans or the use of materials that have not been vetted can result in serious injuries to consumers who simply want access to the item they have already bought.

*Kinds of Product Packaging Injuries* There are a number of ways that product packaging can be designed or manufactured that make risk of harm likely to the consumer. In some cases, glass packaging or containers shatter. In other situations, packaging may be made of a thin or inappropriate material that breaks or shatters. For instance, a glass makeup tube or container that cannot be twisted open without causing the material to shatter, or a small plastic hand lotion container that splits or shatters when it is squeezed. Other times, hazardous or toxic packing materials may be used, or insufficient warnings or instructions may be given.

*When Can I Sue for an Injury Caused by Product Packaging? * It should be stated that injuries caused by product packaging are a growing problem in the United States, and their incidence is highest the week following the Christmas holiday, when everyone is opening their gifts. Nothing kills the holiday spirit quite like an amputated fingertip. Other injuries caused by defective product packaging can include severed tendons, muscle strain, lacerations, and serious injury to the eyes. If you suffer an injury that required a trip to the E.R. and resulted in medical expenses or other financial harm, such as not being able to work while you recovered, or physical therapy, you may have legal means of recovering for damages provided that the product or packaging that harmed you was defective.

Of course, not all injuries caused by product packaging give rise to a lawsuit. An estimated 6,000 product packaging injuries each year are caused by clamshell packaging alone. However, if you are injured because you tried to take a meat-cleaver to a clamshell package, you will likely not be able to recover for damages. You must have attempted to open the package and use the product as a reasonable person likely would have in the same situation, and the defect must have been such that injury was likely to result.

*Strict Liability for Defective Product Packaging * If you have been injured by a defectively designed or manufactured product and/or its packaging, the good news is that most of your case has already been established. Defective products and packaging falls under strict liability, which holds the company accountable for defective products and packaging regardless of whether they were aware of the issue or if additional negligence or malintent was involved. All that you will have to show is that the product is defective and that you were injured.

*Talk to Pivotal Law Group * If you or a loved one has been injured by a defective holiday toy or product packaging, the experienced product liability and personal injury attorneys at Pivotal Law Group are ready to help. Contact the Pivotal Law Group today, serving Seattle, Bellevue, Kent, Renton, Burien, Mercer Island, Issaquah, and the greater Washington State area, and schedule a consultation to find out how we can help you hold the liable parties accountable and get the maximum amount of compensation to which you are entitled.