Caveat emptor is one of the basic principles of tort law in product liability lawsuits. Loosely translated caveat emptor means buyers beware. Thus under this principle the buyer or consumer of the product is presumed to have basic knowledge of the product he or she proposes to purchase. However, the basic tragedy remains that many Illinois residents are not able to fully understand this concept.

There have been numerous products liability lawsuits in Illinois. Tragically, one of the most vulnerable classes of product liability cases has been about children’s toys. Many children’s toys have been recalled in the past few years due to inherent faults in them. Consumer safety thus becomes a major cause of concern for Illinois residents.

Consumer safety  in the digital world has now taken a paradigm shift. Many cases of identity theft have been reported due to unsafe purchases from some businesses. Consumers have been warned by state authorities to take various safety measures in order to protect themselves from such identity theft. Setting up transaction alerts as well as an upper limit for such credit transactions may help consumers to be regularly vigilant.

Children’s toys as well as bikes have been recalled by many renowned brands which are otherwise trusted by the parents implicitly. Product defects are not only found in children’s’ toys but also in children’s cribs, as well as bicycles and other utilities and were recalled by the manufacturers. Therefore, consumer vigilance may be the best way to generate consumer safety. In case of any injury suffered due to a defect in the product, parents and consumers may seek legal representation to initiate a products liability lawsuit.

Source:  IllinoisAttorneyGeneral.gov, “ Safe shopping ,” Accessed on March 13, 2015

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