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Federal Hazardous Substances Act

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (Commission), a federal regulatory agency, enforces the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (Act). The Act regulates hazardous substances. A hazardous substance means a substance that is toxic, corrosive, an irritant, or flammable and which can cause serious personal injury or illness when used. Pesticides and fuels are regulated by other federal agencies and do not fall within the definition of a hazardous substance.

Product Liability Law and the Reasonable Design Alternative Test

In many product liability cases, the plaintiff alleges that a design defect was responsible for the injuries incurred. For example, in a product liability case alleging that a car's gas tank exploded in rear-end collisions, the plaintiff would allege that the car was defectively designed. In these types of cases, some courts have established a "reasonable design alternative" test. Under this test, a product is defective in design when the foreseeable risks of harm posed by the product could have been reduced or avoided by the adoption of a reasonable alternative design by the seller or other distributor and the omission of the alternative design renders the product not reasonably safe.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration Regulation of Direct-to-Consumer Advertising of Prescription Drugs

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authority to regulate prescription drug advertising. FDA regulations prohibit false or misleading advertising of prescription drugs. In 1997, the FDA adopted special guidelines for advertising prescription drugs through broadcast media.

Liability of Ammunition Manufacturers

Gun manufacturers have been faced with product liability suits claiming that the manufacturers should be held strictly liable for producing certain guns, even if they worked exactly as intended, because the guns constituted defective, "unreasonably dangerous" products. What about the manufacturers of ammunition? Gun violence would not be possible without ammunition. Can ammunition manufacturers be held liable for producing unreasonably dangerous products?

Household Chemical Litigation

Almost any household chemical can be dangerous if swallowed or spilled. It is estimated that the average home in America contains over 60 toxic chemicals. Some of the commonly used household products that can be dangerous are air fresheners, ammonia, bleach, carpet and upholstery shampoos, dishwasher detergents, drain cleaners, furniture polishes, mold and mildew cleaners, oven cleaners, antibacterial cleaners, and toilet bowl cleaners. The injuries that these products can cause range from mild skin irritation to death.