When the safety of a product is called into question it can have far-reaching, significant and long-term effects on a brand. Giving prior due consideration to the potential risks faced by the company can be of substantial assistance in managing potential brand damage.
The beginning of 2014 saw the launch of a plethora of smart technology. Amazon grabbed the headlines with the news that they were considering the use of drones for package deliveries. Our prediction (IHL211, June 2013) that driverless cars would be with us sooner than thought came true with an announcement that Milton Keynes is to introduce driverless cars which will be booked through a smartphone app. More recently, Sir James Dyson has invested £5m in a venture to develop household robots. [Continue Reading]
Today’s global economy presents both commercial opportunity and legal risk to producers. The vast majority of companies now trade on an international scale with design, manufacturing and distribution spanning the entire globe. However, international trade is not without risk where product liability is concerned. In this article, John Reynolds of Shook, Hardy & Bacon considers some of these risks and ways in which companies may limit exposure. [Continue Reading]
Collective actions can significantly increase litigation exposure for businesses. Progressively, collective action rules are being proposed and introduced in more jurisdictions. The last few months have seen steps at both European and national level towards the adoption of new legislation designed to facilitate actions for collective redress. Sarah Croft, of Shook Hardy & Bacon International, assesses the recent developments. [Continue Reading]
The life sciences sector in the UK has proved economically robust over recent years, growing in strength and diversity. In particular, healthcare technology has seen the largest growth with turnover reaching £17.6bn in 2013.1 Within this has come an exponential rise in mobile medical applications, known as ‘healthcare apps’ or ‘medical apps’, which focus on health, fitness and medical issues. [Continue Reading]
Sarah Croft of Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP looks back over some of the main European product liability cases of 2013 and examines the trends which may impact businesses going forward. [Continue Reading]
For manufacturers that export, a key strategic issue for in-house counsel is assessing the risk of being sued in another jurisdiction – particularly the US.
In 2011 Sarah Croft, of Shook, Hardy & Bacon International LLP, reported on two decisions of the US Supreme Court which reaffirmed that non-US manufacturers cannot be sued in a state court unless their commercial conduct has a link to that state.1 It was hoped that these decisions gave some comfort to manufacturers that they would not end up in litigation in a state with which they had no direct commercial contact. The Supreme Court was divided, however, leaving scope for interpretation of the rulings by lower courts. [Continue Reading]
As part of the European Commission’s continued commitment to product safety, the Commission has proposed a product safety and market surveillance package for ‘safer products and more fair play in the internal market’. The aim is two-fold: primarily, strengthening consumer protection with a new Regulation on Consumer Product Safety (COM (2013) 78). Secondly, rationalising and strengthening market surveillance powers and obligations to provide fair competition for businesses across the member states. This will be achieved by the introduction of a specific Regulation on Market Surveillance of Products (COM (2013) 75). [Continue Reading]
PIP implants may be out of the headlines but the considerable impact of the scandal is now shaping the field of product liability and the regulation of medical devices.
When announcing the new proposals for the regulation of medical devices in September 2012, the health and consumer policy commissioner John Dalli said: [Continue Reading]
Life for those who look after children can feel like one long risk assessment. When purchasing products designed specifically for children, parents expect the highest safety standards. Sarah Croft, of Shook, Hardy & Bacon International, assesses product liability issues and the regulatory environment for children’s products in Europe and the UK. [Continue Reading]
