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Punitive Damages Awards in Product Liability Suits

Punitive damages are damages in excess of damages awarded to compensate a tort victim for injuries sustained. Also called exemplary damages, punitive damages are awarded to punish a tortfeasor for wanton or malicious conduct. Punitive damages have often been assessed in product liability actions.

Possible Defendants in Product Liability Actions

Product liability laws protect consumers from unsafe products. What happens if a consumer doesn't know who manufactures the product? Can anyone else be held liable? What about sellers, resellers, assemblers, and manufacturers of component parts? Can anyone in the product chain from conception to purchase be held liable for a product's defects? Can anyone in the product chain be held liable for all of the damages of an injured consumer?

Agent Orange Litigation

Agent Orange was the code name for a herbicide used by the United States military during the Vietnam War. Agent Orange was used to defoliate trees and bushes to reduce cover for enemy forces. Almost 20 million gallons of Agent Orange were sprayed over the South Vietnam countryside during the war. Several hundred thousand soldiers were exposed to Agent Orange, which contained a toxic by-product known as dioxin. Some veterans who returned from the war began complaining about a variety of ailments.

Effect of Product Recalls on Litigation

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is responsible for announcing the recall of products that present a significant risk to consumers. The risk can arise because a product is defective or because it violates a mandatory standard issued by the CPSC. Most product manufacturers will voluntarily recall a product based on a request by the CPSC or the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or based on the manufacturer's own determination that the product in question is unsafe.

Causation in Products Liability Lawsuits

Products liability is an area of the law which deals with personal injury and property damage that results from a defective product.