What steps can I take if the clothing manufacturer is out of business?
In many situations where a child is killed due to drawstrings on clothing, the clothing manufacturer is legally responsible for not meeting consumer safety requirements with the clothing. If the clothing manufacturer is not available, if they are out of business, or if they are not considered legally responsible, many people wonder if they can sue the other companies involved. If a child is killed on a playground slide at school due to drawstring strangulation, for example, whether the school or the manufacturer of the slide can be sued, depends on the details of the incident.
Who bears liability for an unsafe environment?
The equipment company may be liable if they created an unsafe environment that led to the incident, and if they should have reasonably known about the lack of safety and done something to correct it. If this is the case, they can potentially be considered legally responsible, even if the drawstring was the main contributing factor.
What are the school's responsibilities?
If the child killed was supposed to be supervised, perhaps because of clumsiness due to a medical condition, or due to age, and the school did not provide the proper supervision, leading to the death, the school can be considered a contributor to the incident and thus be held legally responsible. Similarly, if the equipment was not well maintained – for example, if the drawstring got caught in a crack in the plastic slide, leading to the death, it could be argued that the school should have fixed the crack.
What is the role of the slide manufacturer?
If the slide has an unsafe protrusion or hook that caught the drawstring, which poses an obviously dangerous situation that should have been noted and corrected by the manufacturer, the manufacturer can be held responsible.
How can I get help?
Finding liability in a situation involving unsafe products is often difficult due to the specific details of any given situation. Often multiple factors come together to create a tragic occurrence, and establishing which one was the main contributor may be virtually impossible. You absolutely must speak with a skilled lawyer in a situation like this to ensure your rights are protected.