Illinois Product Liability Rules to Evaluate Product Dangerousness Given By Appellate Court
A recent Illinois Appellate court decision on a product liability claim reviewed the elements needed to prove strict liability in an Illinois product liability claim. In Charles Salerno v. Innovative Surveillance Technology, Inc., No. 1-09-1402, the plaintiff appealed the trial court's decision to grant the defendant's motion for summary judgment. The Appellate Court affirmed the trial court's decision, but for different reasons.
The basis of the product liability claims in Salerno are centered around an injury the plaintiff sustained while working in a surveillance cargo van manufactured by the defendant. The van contained a video periscope system. The plaintiff's injury occurred when he tried to stand inside the cargo van and struck his head on the metal periscope. According to the plaintiff's product liability complaint, his severe head trauma and resulting seizures could have been avoided if the defendant's product had not been unreasonably dangerous and defective.
The trial court granted the defendant manufacturer's motion for summary judgment on the grounds that the risk of being harmed by the periscope was open and obvious and that the defendant had no duty to protect the plaintiff from any resulting injuries.
Upon review, the Appellate Court was critical of the trial court's reason for dismissing the Illinois product defect lawsuit. In a prior decision the Illinois Supreme Court decided that a product's open and obvious risk of harm does not constitute an absolute defense in a strict liability count. While this defense may be considered as part of the risk-utility analysis it can not constitute the only factor.
The events leading to the case began in 2005 when Perez's boyfriend, Baeza, was driving them home from a quinceañera, i.e. a coming of age celebration for a 15 year-old girl. Baeza had been drinking and was speeding along when his car left the roadway and struck a tree. He was later charged with an aggravated DUI.
While working at one of ConAgra's warehouses a forklift hit the plaintiff from behind. The force of the impact knocked the plaintiff to the ground, where the forklift ran over his right leg. The forklift in question was one of four machines that ConAgra had rented for use at its St. Charles, Illinois warehouse. 
According to reports, these cribs' product defect seems to result from a 
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Since its April 10, 2010 voluntary recall, 
The review of the complaint in this lawsuit was prompted by the defense filing a Motion to Dismiss pursuant to the Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). Under the Federal Rule 12(b)(6), the Court examines the Complaint to ensure it satisfies the following requirements:
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The original 
The unusually large number of recalls due to potential 
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This agreement is much better for the general public than GM's original plan, which would have barred any new product liability lawsuits being filed against the new company. However, lawmakers had a problem with leaving the American public without any legal recourse for personal injuries resulting from 
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The recent 
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Trish McCloud was severely injured in 2002 when the rear tire blew out on her Honda Gold Wing motorcycle. Her expert witness narrowed down the tire defect to three possible manufacturing errors by defendant, Goodyear. Based on his testimony the jury awarded her damages under her 
Claudia Blanco was diagnosed with mitral valve stenosis and needed to have her natural valve replaced with an artificial one. During surgery a bileaflet mitral heart valve manufactured by Baxter-Travenol Laboratories was inserted. A year after Blanco received the valve Baxter suspended marketing of its product due to reports of possible valve failures. 
Because of 
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