Case Studies

Related News

• Duane Morris Welcomes Trial Partner to Newark Office
• Duane Morris' James "J." Ferrelli Named Vice Chair of New Jersey Lawyer Magazine Editorial Board
• Trial Attorney Kenneth M. Argentieri Joins Duane Morris in Pittsburgh

Past Events [ more ]

• 2007 Joint International Conference
• 2007 DRI Product Liability Conference
• Duane Morris Partner Alan Klein to Speak at American Conference Institute Meeting

Related Publications [ more ]

• Pain Pumps: The Next Medical Device Litigation Wave?
• Key Pharma Preemption Ruling in Third Circuit
• California Adopts "Sophisticated User" Defense

Related Matters Listing

Attorney Listing

Home > Practices

Products Liability and Toxic Torts

Duane Morris' national litigation practice represents numerous national, multinational, and non-U.S. based manufacturers in all forms of products liability litigation, including defense of products class actions in both federal and state courts, and consolidated multidistrict actions.

Range of Services

Duane Morris represents a broad spectrum of clients in products liability and toxic tort litigation, serving as lead counsel and as local, regional and national counsel. Our experience includes defense of mass tort litigation in which lawsuits from multiple districts are handled by a coordinated team effort. Many of our products liability lawyers also serve on their client's national trial teams.

Our lawyers have defended products manufactured or insured by our clients, including pharmaceutical products, vitamins, food and dietary supplements, medical and orthopedic devices, hospital equipment, automobiles and trucks, wheel assemblies and other automotive components, chemicals, paints and coatings, food processing equipment, consumer and industrial heating elements, transformers and generators of energy, pesticides, cleansers, construction equipment, ship turbines, helicopters, cosmetics and hair care products, meat grinders, printing presses, asbestos-containing products and a myriad of other consumer products including sports, recreation, toys and children's products.

We regularly defend product cases involving pharmaceutical, dietary supplements, hospital equipment and medical, surgical and orthopedic devices utilizing lawyers experienced in defending medical malpractice claims, thereby bringing their knowledge of medical issues to the defense of these products. The firm has also developed working relationships with an extensive group of exceptionally well qualified, independent and trial-tested consultants and expert witnesses.

Members of the group are also active in associations developing industry standards. This broad experience enables our lawyers to provide clients with value-added advice relating to labeling, packaging and marketing issues in advance of and with the objective of avoiding litigation.

Whether defending a products liability client in a single catastrophic injury case or acting as national litigation coordinating counsel, our products team is supported by the firm's state-of-the-art litigation technology, which is creatively applied to efficiently and cost effectively meet the needs of our clients in all kinds of litigation, including requirements under the new federal e-discovery rules.

When in our client's best interests, our lawyers have engaged in various forms of Alternative Dispute Resolution, and in innovative settlement strategies in the resolution of single cases, large groups of cases, or as applied to an entire category of litigation.

Range of Experience

Dietary Supplements. Our lawyers have successfully defended a major manufacturer in numerous lawsuits that culminated in multidistrict litigation. Our lawyers were members of the Defense Steering Committee as well as the Science Committee. The firm's work on these committees resulted in a global settlement for our client prior to extensive discovery being undertaken.

Medical Device Litigation. As an outgrowth of our extensive medical malpractice and health law litigation practices, our firm has been retained by a number of manufacturers of health-related products. We have represented the manufacturers of knee and hip replacement implants, cranio-maxillofacial implants, electrical bone growth stimulators and external fixation devices in products liability litigation. In addition, we have participated in many cases involving the integrity of products employed during surgery, such as surgical drills, perfusion equipment, as well as penile, orthopedic and breast implants. We have also been involved in trial and appellate proceedings involving the issue of preemption resulting from FDA approval.

PPA Litigation. Since 2004, Duane Morris has served as national counsel for a major manufacturer of PPA-containing diet drugs and prescription nasal decongestant products, representing it in federal multi-district litigation and in state court cases throughout the country. Using a creative and multi-disciplinary approach to mass tort litigation, Duane Morris attorneys counseled their PPA client and implemented unique strategies designed to bring closure to the company's diet drug litigation, including a settlement class action and non-debtor bankruptcy relief.

Asbestos Product Defense Litigation. The products liability and toxic tort lawyers at Duane Morris have represented several Fortune 100 companies in the defense of asbestos personal injury and property damage cases for decades. They have tried hundreds of cases to verdict, and have been key members of their clients' national trial teams.

Our lawyers served as national coordinating counsel for all asbestos litigation against two related entities that manufactured equipment used in the maritime, electric utility, oil and gas and chemical industries, which involved our oversight and management of the defense of their more than 60,000 individual cases throughout the United States. Our ability to efficiently manage, coordinate the defense and report on this volume of cases was supported by our state-of-the-art litigation technology, which allowed us to develop a variety of particularized databases to enable us to track information about individual units of equipment and other key data in order to assist in effectively overseeing each of the 60,000 cases.

Duane Morris attorneys have represented one of the major American auto manufacturers in its asbestos litigation since the 1980s. The firm now represents two such auto manufacturers in their asbestos cases. As members of the national trial teams for these clients, our seasoned attorneys have tried cases throughout the country for them, coordinated national case management strategies, and helped select and prepare expert witnesses.

Sports and Recreational Equipment. We advise and represent the manufacturers, importers and retailers of many of the world's best known brands of sports and recreation products, ranging from skis and snowboards to helmets, bicycles, skates, mountaineering and personal protection equipment, scuba gear, water sports, yachts and marine equipment. The depth of our knowledge and participation in these areas is illustrated by our attorneys' leading roles in industry organizations such as the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association, the National Ski Areas Association, the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the Maritime Law Association and the DRI Recreational Products Specialized Litigation Group. We serve as national counsel to many foreign and domestic producers, and in that capacity we provide comprehensive risk management services, advice on insurance and indemnity issues, and coordination of products liability litigation.

Automobile Products. Our lawyers are experienced in the defense of products liability claims relating to automobiles, trucks, and other automotive products. We have defended numerous domestic and foreign manufacturers, distributors and sellers directly, as well as products liability insurers. We work closely with leading experts specializing in design, manufacturing, biomechanics, and accident reconstruction to defend claims arising out of allegations of defective design, manufacturing, breach of warranties and failure to warn. Our experience includes defending allegations involving airbags, brakes, crashworthiness, fire, handling and stability, metallurgical failures, restraint systems, rollover/roof crush, seat belts, side impact crashes, tires and vehicle structures. We also offer our clients products liability prevention counseling in the areas of warnings, testing, and record keeping.

Lawn Tractors and Grounds Maintenance Equipment. Duane Morris' lawyers have represented and counseled companies manufacturing equipment for lawn care and the maintenance of ball fields and golf courses. Working closely with them, we have assisted our clients in ensuring compliance with government and industry standards for rollover protection, product labeling and safety, and have defended product injury claims. Our products lawyers are conversant with all of the applicable standards for these products including those promulgated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Society of Automotive Engineers (SEA), the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) and the ISO.

Chemicals, Paints and Coatings. The firm's products lawyers have represented clients in the defense of personal injury cases involving a wide range of products including paints and specialty coatings, toluene and other curing agents, benzene, pesticides and herbicides, all of which are heavily regulated substances under federal and state laws. We have also litigated numerous toxic spill and ground water contamination cases.

Product Safety and Recalls. We advise and represent clients on product safety reporting, recalls and penalty proceedings before the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, the Food and Drug Administration and their counterparts elsewhere, and we have counseled clients through highly publicized product safety crises, government investigations and recalls. We advise clients on issues such as product development, labeling and instructions, safety standards, warranties, testing, import-export and distribution issues involving consumer products. Engagements include recalls and defect reporting issues involving toys, drugs, sporting goods, clothing and textiles, electronics, food preparation, nutritional supplements, home improvement and construction materials. Working through our own offices and a global network of law firms, our team assists clients with regulatory and safety/defect reporting, enforcement and litigation issues worldwide.

Product Class Actions. Duane Morris has represented clients in class action litigation brought under a wide range of theories and in many different venues, including class actions involving products liability and warranty claims. Duane Morris was involved in one of the first cross-border class action litigation matters in which its attorneys were instrumental in obtaining dismissal of purported U.S. class actions in a non-U.S. jurisdiction.

Non-U.S. Products Manufacturers. Our lawyers have obtained for non-U.S. based parties dismissal from actions at the pretrial phase which has resulted in tremendous savings for the client. Recently, Duane Morris obtained a trial court dismissal on jurisdictional grounds that was upheld by the California Appellate Court in litigation that is nationwide in scope.

For Additional Information

For more information, please contact Sharon L. Caffrey, Karen Shichman Crawford or any of the practice members referenced in the Attorney Listing.