Hall Booth Smith, P.C.

Products liability claims can be serious enough to ruin one's business. Manufacturers need to understand their responsibility in protecting their end user market. Our attorneys at HBS are ready to help you with your products liability issues.

About Our Practice

Products liability laws can vary from state to state. The claims most commonly associated with Products liability are negligence, strict liability, breach of warranty, and consumer protection claims. Basically, there are three types of products "claims" a business may face:

• Manufacturing or Production Flaws--consumers claim that due to some part of the production process, the products has an unsafe defect.

• Design Defect--consumers find the design of the products unsafe.

• Defective Warnings or Instructions--the products is claimed not properly labeled or lacking adequate warnings for consumers to realize the risk.

The attorneys at Hall Booth Smith, P.C. have extensive experience in assessing risk and defending clients in products liability. We help our clients understand possible risks and combat claims filed against them. Our trial experience has provided us with intimate familiarity with the federal and state courts and their decision trends, which aids us in evaluating exposure and defending claims for personal injury or property damage in the products liability arena.

Our attorneys have extensive experience working with brokers, underwriters and claim professionals in the international insurance market, particularly with Lloyds of London. Our firm has handled many matters on behalf of various Syndicates at Lloyds, and our attorney's understand how this unique market works. We utilize these long-standing relationships to assist foreign insurers to managing their domestic litigation, as well as assisting domestic clients to gain access to the Lloyds market.

The voice of our law firm is heard through the individual experience of our attorneys in products liability matters. We have

• Helped clients prepare for and minimize risks with products liability

• Defended clients against claims of personal injury or property damage

• Handled catastrophic exposure matters involving construction, mass torts, and transportation

• Drafted and presented oral argument on numerous Daubert motions challenging the competency of the opposing side's expert and/or the reliability of the expert's opinions relative to design/manufacturer defect and proximate causation

• Litigated hundreds of cases.

HBS is extremely successful in both federal and state courts due to our attorneys' superior litigation skills and ability to thoroughly grasp the scientific and technical issues involved in each case. A combination of skill, knowledge, and strategic litigation planning enables us to provide our clients with a superior defense and higher probability of success.

Ways We Serve You

Our products liability practice involves the defense of businesses in all areas of litigation. HBS assists clients in negligence, strict liability, or breach of warranty of fitness, as well as resulting litigation. When litigation arises, we focus on an appropriate resolution to the matter, whether that involves positioning the case for a swift settlement or trying a case to verdict.

With our more than twenty years of experience, the attorneys at HBS handle hundreds of products liability legal transactions on a yearly basis. The attorneys in our Products Liability Practice Group are dedicated to exceeding your goals.

Our attorneys have exceptional skill and expertise in products liability law and represent a diverse range of clients. We have litigated and tried products liability cases in every facet of products liability including:

• Negligent design

• Negligent manufacture

• Loss prevention

• Breach of express or implied warranty

• Strict liability or failure to inspect, label, warn or instruct

• Manufacturing defects

• Design defects

• Strict liability

• Asbestos

• Automobile designs

• Design defects with machinery

Outcomes

With the professional integrity and skill HBS lawyers bring to the table, we have successfully resolved many cases for our clients through mediation, motion practice, administrative bodies, bench, and jury trials. Some of our representative clients include:

• A European medical device manufacturer of surgical mesh

• A national medical device manufacturer of patient monitoring equipment

• A national medical device manufacturer of pacemakers in a products liability matter

• A European pharmaceutical manufacturer of metoclopramide

• A national consumer products company that manufactured multi-use ladders and hand carts

• A national turkey fryer manufacturer

• A national manufacturer of go-karts

• Pharmaceuticals and medical device companies.

• Manufacturers and wholesalers of medical products

• Manufacturers of household and commercial products

We have received successful outcomes in

• Defending biotechnology and pharmaceutical manufacturers from products liability claims

• Defending a wrongful death claim against an incubator manufacturer

• Pre-suit defense of a medical device death case involving a world-wide products recall

• Workplace injuries involving skid steer loaders and hand-held power tools

• Defeating a putative class action in litigation over surgical bone screws

• Obtained a dismissal of a putative class action over wood screws

Since the firm’s inception, HBS has embraced the value of diversity, and we continue to cultivate an environment of inclusion and success for all individuals.  We are committed to a cohesive and productive work environment where our varied cultures, backgrounds, ethnicities, and perspectives are communicated, understood, and embraced to enrich our employees and best serve our clients.

Our Commitment
Our efforts to enhance our diverse environment are not restricted to minority employees.  Instead, we believe that everyone, regardless of his or her race, age, or gender, must be included in our diversity mission in order to ensure its success.   The firm’s Diversity Committee is comprised of partners and senior staff members who ensure our diversity mission is not just a sentiment but is also a part of the fabric of HBS.     

HBS actively participates in a variety of events and sponsorships geared towards highlighting the importance of diversity, and the firm continuously seeks opportunities to enhance our diversity program.  This includes involvement with organizations such as the Corporate Counsel for Women of Color and the Minority Corporate Counsel of America as well as our internal mentor/protégé program, in which our senior, female and minority attorneys reach out and mentor other women and minority attorneys and clients.