
Contacts
- 716.848.1343
- 518.433.2445
Professionals
Hodgson Russ’s Product Liability & Complex Tort practice knows how to best protect your business in the face of tort litigation that can threaten your company’s operations, product development, and reputation. With over two centuries of experience, we will partner with you to devise the best strategy to manage and resolve these lawsuits, and to prevent similar ones in the future.
Our team prides itself on its client-centered approach and understanding of your overall business goals. This perspective enables us to effectively defend you and to minimize long-term risk for your business in the future. To that end, our lawyers are active in civil justice reform; we are members of relevant trade associations and defense organizations; we visit our clients’ facilities to better learn their operations; and we remain current on industry trends and developments materially affecting our clients’ businesses. In the event of a claim or lawsuit, we will conduct comprehensive investigations and consult with highly-qualified experts to develop successful litigation strategies and solutions.
Hodgson Russ works to protect your interests inside and outside the courtroom. Beyond litigation matters, our lawyers also advise and guide clients in the development of product warnings, owners’ manuals, contract documents, and other risk mitigation policies and procedures. We counsel clients on their compliance obligations under federal regulations and state statutes, including the labeling and warning requirements of California’s Proposition 65. We also have extensive experience helping our clients facilitate product recalls before government agencies, including the Consumer Product Safety Commission, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and Food and Drug Administration.
Our team successfully defends and resolves claims involving catastrophic personal injury, property damage, and wrongful death. We handle claims through every phase of litigation—including motions to dismiss, depositions, summary judgment, bench and jury trials, appeals, and settlement—in both Federal and State courts across the U.S.
We represent clients across a wide range of industries, including suppliers, distributors, and Fortune 100 manufacturers. We specialize in high-exposure, “bet the company” litigation. We are well versed in all types of litigation, from single lawsuits to mass/class actions to multi-district litigation.
We have successfully handled a number of product liability and complex tort matters involving:
- Agricultural Equipment
- Appliances
- Asbestos Containing Products
- ATVs/Recreational Vehicles
- Automobiles
- Aviation
- Chemicals
- Child Abuse
- Construction Defects
- Construction Equipment
- Cranes & Aerial Devices
- Diet Supplements
- Dram Shop Act
- Electrical Equipment & Generators
- Electrocutions
- False Arrest/Malicious Prosecution
- Firefighting Foam
- Fires/Explosions
- Food Products
- Forklifts
- Industrial Equipment
- Lawn & Landscape Products
- Lead Paint
- Liquid Nitrogen
- Material Handling Equipment
- Medical Devices & Equipment
- Motorcycles
- Negligent Security
- N.Y. Labor Law
- Pharmaceuticals
- Power Tools
- Pressure Gauges & Vessels
- Railroad Equipment
- Skid Steer Loaders
- Tractors
- Trucks & Trailers
- Appeal Helps Limit Liability for Construction Companies
- Breach of Contract, Product Defect & Fraud Claims Settled on Behalf of International Heating Systems Supplier
- Defense Verdict for Defendant Landlord in Dog Bite Case
- Favorable Settlement in Federal Court Products Liability Suit
- Federal Court Victory Ends Seven-Year Court Battle Over Environmental Contamination Claims
- Indemnification in Defense of Products Liability Claims Secured for Construction Equipment Client
- Industrial Machinery Client Avoids Paying Damages in Horrific Product Liability Case
- Jury Rendered Defense Verdict in Labor Law Trial
- Lead Counsel in Nationwide Aviation Wrongful Death Action Involving 50 Deaths
- Litigation Representation for Multinational Manufacturers of Consumer Foods
- Manufacturer of Pressure Valves Relieved of Product Liability in Devastating Explosion Case
- Obtained Dismissals for Medical Products Manufacturer in Cases Arising out of FDA Recall
- Obtained Favorable Settlement for Clients in Massive Personal Injury Suit
- Obtained No-Cause Jury Verdict in Insurance Coverage Dispute
- Personal Injury Lawsuit Against Security Systems Manufacturer Dismissed on Summary Judgment
- Recall Expenses Lawsuit Settled for Far Less Than Damages Claimed
- Secured Dismissals or Nominal Settlements for Manufacturer Clients in High Exposure Asbestos Litigation Matters
- Secured Nominal Settlement for Fortune 1000 Client in a High Exposure Labor Law 240 Case
- Secured Summary Judgment for Fortune 100 Client in Leg Amputation Case
- Significant Court of Appeals Victory Limits Scope of New York State’s Labor Law § 240(1)
- Soller Wins Jury Trial in Ulster County Supreme Court
- Successful Defense of 3M in Major Products Liability Lawsuit
- Successful Resolution in Catastrophic Farming Injury Matter
- Successful Summary Judgment Dismissing Allegations of Workplace Liability
- Summary Judgment for Large Construction Management Company Client in a Labor Law 240 Case
- Three-Week Damages Trial in Brooklyn Yields “No-Cause” Jury Verdict for Hodgson Russ Client
- Won Summary Judgment Dismissing Catastrophic Injury Claims Against Longtime Manufacturing Client
- Won Summary Judgment in Wrongful Death Products Liability Matter
- Won Summary Judgment in Wrongful Death Products Liability Matter
- “No-Cause” Verdict in High Exposure Motor Vehicle Accident Trial
In the News
- The Buffalo News, May 10, 2021
- CNBC, December 23, 2020
- Crain's New York Business, December 21, 2020
- Buffalo News, November 16, 2019
- Buffalo Law Journal, November 11, 2014
- Buffalo Law Journal, November 10, 2014
- Buffalo Law Journal, July 23, 2014
- September 4, 2013
- July 15, 2013
- May 30, 2013
- August 21, 2012
- April 12, 2012
- March 2, 2012
- October 24, 2011
- September 7, 2011
- Buffalo Business First, February 11, 2011
- June 22, 2009
- June 11, 2009
- March 25, 2009
Press Releases
- September 26, 2022
- Hodgson Russ Press Release, August 23, 2022
- Hodgson Russ Press Release, August 19, 2022
- Hodgson Russ Press Release, November 15, 2021
- Press Release, November 18, 2015
- Press Release, February 7, 2014
Publications
- Hodgson Russ Product Liability & Complex Tort Client Alert, January 31, 2023
- Hodgson Russ Product Liability & Complex Tort Alert, May 10, 2022
- Hodgson Russ Product Liability Litigation & Legislation Quarterly Update, May 2022
- Hodgson Russ Product Liability Litigation & Legislation Quarterly Update, January/February 2022
- Hodgson Russ Torts, Insurance and Products Liability Alert, March 25, 2021
- New York Law Journal, October 7, 2020
- Hodgson Russ Torts, Insurance & Products Liability Alert, April 17, 2020
- Hodgson Russ Corporate Alert, March 19, 2020
- OSHA Alert, December 20, 2018
- Torts, Insurance & Products Liability, and Business Litigation Alert, September 15, 2017
- Buffalo Niagara Partnership, December 17, 2014
- Hodgson Russ Alert, September 23, 2014
Presentations & Events
- March 16, 2021
- Avoiding (and Surviving!) Contract Disputes – Common Pitfalls of Contract Drafting That Land You in CourtFebruary 2016
- New York State Bar Association Seminar: Intro to Civil Practice Skills - Torts, Personal Injury, and Insurance LawBuffalo, NY, October 30, 2015