Every day across America millions of families use products that they believe to be safe; they use medications they believe will make them better, not worse. Unfortunately, we live in a different world, one in which the desire for market share and corporate profits drive companies to produce, market and promote products which they know are not safe and place the safety of our families at risk. This is a tragedy whenever and to whomever it occurs, but never more so than when it happens to our children. My name is Jim Onder and as a father of five, I understand how our children brighten each and every day, giving meaning to our very existence. When a child is lost or seriously injured, it defies logic and all rational thought. It strips from us the very purpose for which we live.
Regrettably, most of my days are spent working with families that have suffered tragedy, sometimes a recoverable injury, but more often an injury resulting in a death or lifelong debilitating injury. Unfortunately, most companies do not listen to pleas from parents or those injured to correct their product hazards. Companies often ignore government attempts at regulation, knowing that government resources are not sufficient to take meaningful action in a timely fashion. Regulation can take years. Raising the cost of producing dangerous products that injure and kill our children by the filing of lawsuits is often the only way to shift the economic balance such that it is no longer profitable for companies to sell unsafe products. The family of a child with a chronic health problem should not struggle to pay medical bills when the problem was caused by a dangerous product or an unsafe medicine that made billions. In the cases we undertake, our goal is not only to secure appropriate compensation for the families we represent, but also to effect REAL change within the Industry, that no other family have to suffer from the losses associated with the injury or death of a child.
My firm is nationally known and recognized as a leader in not only the handling of lawsuits involving the safety of our children, but also in advocating change to prevent injuries from occurring into the future. As the national authority in the field of window covering litigation, we have seen our efforts take root and make a difference. Through the handling of voluminous lawsuits across the country, and with the support of our past and present clients, we are making a difference. We have worked hand in hand with the Consumer Products Safety Commission and parental groups to place pressure on manufacturers to not only recall over 100 million defective window coverings to date, but also to force the re-writing of Industry standards for the safety of our children. While there is still work to be done, through litigation, lobbying, and the support of our clients, meaningful changes are occurring, but never fast enough.
Be it in the area of window coverings, or in the case of Orajel and other teething products, wherein companies are actively telling parents that it is safe to put a medication that can seriously injure or kill a child into their mouth, our goal is far more than to merely obtain fair compensation. Our goal is to force change. While a lawsuit can never replace the priceless life of a child, it can make a difference, change an Industry, and help save the life of another child. In all the suffering, we must find strength. We must battle for what we know is right, take on manufacturers, and challenge them to produce safe products. Please join us in making a difference, that no other family have to endure the suffering associated with the loss of a child. Together, we can and will make a difference.