Dozens of Products Liability Cases Filed Against Amazon
Many people do not realize that when they purchase products on Amazon, there may have been little or no assurance the products have been reviewed for safety and often no recourse against Amazon for products liability claims due to injuries or even deaths resulting from unsafe products.
One recent investigative report found more than four thousand items offered for sale on Amazon’s system that had previously been flagged as dangerous, improperly labeled, and/or recalled due to safety concerns. These products have produced numerous injuries — including fatalities — and multiple personal injury claims for defective products. Court records show more than sixty cases filed against Amazon in federal court over just the last ten years, and this doesn’t include many other cases filed in state courts.
Types of Injuries from Defective Products Sold through Amazon
The personal injuries for product defects resulting from items sold through the Amazon platform have often been tragic. One involved a remote-control device that had been defective and was not in compliance with the Underwriters Laboratories standards for certification of such devices. (Underwriters Laboratories is a recognized safety certification company in both the United States and Canada — it provides both safety and design standards for many, many types of products, as well as safety certifications of specific items.) In that instance, the remote’s batteries were swallowed by a toddler, resulting in esophageal injuries that nearly killed the child.
Other cases against Amazon have involved defective hoverboards that have caused serious fires, vaping devices exploding in people’s pockets and causing burns, and defective holiday lights that started a fire and killed a man in 2014.
Products Liability Cases Against Amazon are Particularly Challenging
Generally, both state laws and federal laws relating to personal injuries and deaths due to products liability allow victims and their survivors to sue several classes of defendants, usually including those who design, manufacture, distribute, and sell the products. If someone was to buy a defective bicycle at a local store and was then injured due to that defective product, then the local store — as the seller of the product — would ordinarily be one of the defendants in a resulting personal injury claim and lawsuit.
Many people don’t realize with major online sales services like Amazon that the online platform — Amazon — may not actually be the legal “seller” of the product. Amazon offers products in two different manners online. In one of those sales “channels,” we are purchasing the items directly from Amazon — they are distributing, stocking, and selling the products directly to individuals.
However, in their “Marketplace” sales channel, Amazon is acting as a middleman for thousands and thousands of separate companies and individuals who are selling products to consumers. In these Marketplace sales, Amazon argues that it is not the seller of the product and is therefore not legally liable for injuries and deaths that may result from defective products sold through that route. Amazon says that it is merely providing an online sales platform that allows the seller and purchaser to complete their transactions and that Amazon is therefore not responsible.
Amazon’s Legal Shield May be Breaking Down
Some recent cases may provide hope that lawsuits involving defective products sold through Amazon’s Marketplace channel may have a better chance of proceeding directly against Amazon. This is good news since many of the Marketplace third-party vendors are small companies or individuals, foreign-based companies, or other defendants who may be either difficult to sue and/or who have inadequate insurance to cover serious injuries their products may have caused. One case that recently received a favorable ruling in federal appellate court involved a plaintiff who lost sight in one of her eyes after being injured by a defective animal leash. Although the local district trial court initially found in Amazon’s favor as to its “seller” status, the appeals court found that Amazon was so thoroughly involved in the sales process’s functioning that it could be held legally responsible as a seller.
Another case in state court in Texas — that of the toddler who nearly died from swallowing a remote’s batteries — will soon be heard by that state’s Supreme Court. And in yet another case recently to come before the California Supreme Court, an appellate court ruling that online sellers like Amazon could be held liable for defective batteries was allowed to stand. Other similar cases in recent years have further chipped away at the arguments by Amazon and other online retailers regarding their liability in third-party vendor sales.
Although it may eventually require additional legislation and multiple rulings in individual states, or even at the level of the U.S. Congress and Supreme Court, the ability of Amazon and other major online sales “platforms” to argue that they have no responsibility for injuries and deaths from defective third-party vendor products appears to be gradually going away.
Watch YouTube Video: Amazon Faces Accountability for Defective Products from Online Sellers. The video below explains why Amazon can now be responsible for defective products sold through its marketplace.
Sacramento Product Defects Attorney
Hi, I’m Ed Smith, a product defects lawyer in Sacramento, California. Online retailers like Amazon often bear legal responsibility when a defective product is sold either directly or through third-party services like Amazon Marketplace. When this has happened, it is important for injury victims to look for help and advice from knowledgeable legal professionals. Please contact us at (916) 921-6400 or (800) 404-5400 to speak with one of our injury attorneys for free and friendly advice related to a potential Amazon-sold product defects claim. We can also be reached via our online form.
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