Consumer Product Safety

Choking-hazard analysis can involve the size, shape, accessibility, and detachability of product components, along with the intended user population and foreseeable ways the product may be handled. Testing methods, age grading, assembly instructions, warnings, incident evidence, and the condition of the product can also be important when evaluating the alleged choking hazard and the circumstances of the incident.

A test result has limited meaning without understanding how the test was performed. An expert may examine the test protocol, samples selected, conditioning or setup, equipment, acceptance criteria, recorded measurements, deviations from the protocol, and whether the conditions reasonably represented the safety question being investigated. This can help counsel determine what the testing does and does not establish.

These records can help establish chronology, identify recurring allegations, and determine whether reported events involve circumstances similar to the incident in dispute. Similarity matters. A complaint, incident report, or recall does not by itself establish that a particular product was defective or caused an injury, so the underlying facts and product conditions should be evaluated separately.