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Question: Can a person be successful in a product liability case if he or she did not use a product properly or in accord with the directions on the product? Rich: They certainly may be, yes. And obviously the extent to which a person did not properly use a product may become an issue and may give rise to contributory negligence or assumption of the risk. But what we often see is that a product…

Robert A. Clifford, senior partner at Clifford Law Offices, closed out a three-hour program and spoke to a group of lawyers on closing arguments at the Young Lawyers Section Trial Techniques Seminar at the Chicago Bar Association (CBA). Clifford, along with Colin Smith of Holland & Knight, William Spiro of Law Office of William B. Spiro, and the Hon. James Shapiro of the Cook County Circuit Court, spoke on the various elements of a trial…

Question: Do I need to have the product to file a product liability case? Rich: For all practical purposes, yes. And I certainly caution consumers to keep and preserve any product that they believe have caused them injury as a result of any defective design. That’s unquestionably the most important aspect of any product liability case. The product is going to be evaluated by us and our experts to determine why the product was defective…

When the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) discovered that 81.5 percent of those who died in early morning (3 a.m.-4 a.m.) automobile accidents from 2008 to 2012 were not wearing seat belts, it wasted no time in launching a campaign to help reduce the number of fatalities in Illinois auto accidents. That campaign is known as the 2013 Click It or Ticket mobilization, which runs now through Memorial Day weekend. IDOT, along with state police…

Question: With respect to motor vehicles, what type of incidents might give rise to a product liability case? Rich: We certainly see these cases arising out of what are often just the very basic types of traffic accidents that occur on the highway everyday. You have to keep in mind that vehicles are known and expected to be operated at highway speeds, which in many instances, especially when you get out into some rural areas,…

Richard Burke, a partner at Clifford Law Offices, has a great deal of experience in the area of product liability law in sorting through complex cases that involve when something goes wrong with a product. Which can be anything from unsafe BBQ lighters to children’s games. He spends much of time handling motor vehicle liability cases involving rollovers of SUV’s that can be caused by defects in tires, seats and airbags. Rich was an Assistant…

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New legislation for school speed zones passed the Illinois House on April 19, 2013, and now the Illinois Senate holds in its hands the safety of thousands of school-age children. Not to mention the motorists who, should the bill pass, will need to use more caution when driving through designated school zones to avoid auto accidents and fines. New Speed Zone Proposals As the Chicago Tribune reported, data shows that most auto accidents in which…

May 20, 2013 Robert A. Clifford, senior partner at Clifford Law Offices, will be speaking on “Closing Arguments” Wednesday (May 22) at the Chicago Bar Association Young Lawyers Section Trial Techniques Seminar. The three-hour afternoon program will deal with the four components of a trial: opening statements, direct examination, cross examination and closing arguments. The program provides continuing legal education credit. Also part of the program are Collin Smith of Holland & Knight on opening…