Hantavirus outbreak in Yosemite puts thousands at risk

On Friday officials announced that more up to 10,000 individuals were at risk of having potential contracted the deadly hantavirus due to exposure to the virus in tents in Yosemite National Park.  The epicenter of the deadly outbreak seem to be permanent tents set up by the national park service in the Curry section of the National Park. According to the CDC the hantavirus results from exposure to animal droppings.  The Hantavirus are a lethal negative RNA viruses contracted through urine, saliva, and rodent droppings;  in some instances the hantavirus can go airborne greatly increasing the probability of contraction. Tents Design and Construction Defect Liability – Lawsuit against tent manufacturers   According to reports the hantavirus outbreak in Yosemite was due to mice and rat dropping in permanent tents.  The potential cause of the droppings may have been either a failure to properly clean and inspect the tents or a design flow or construction flaw in the tents which allowed mice and other vermin access to the tents. There may be potential claim and lawsuit against the designers and manufacturers of the tents if the permanent tents are found to be defectively designed, manufactures or constructed. Under California and Federal Defective Products laws there are several way in which a product can be deemed to be defectively designed;  Manufacturing:  Manufacturer defects occur when there is a flaw in the manufacturing method, which caused the product to be different from what the manufacturer originally intended. The product will be considered defective when it is different from its original design, even though care was exercised to avoid this issue. When considering whether a product has a manufacturing defect, the important question is always whether it was designed in conformity with the manufacturer’s original plans. If there is some type of deviation then a manufacturer defect is considered to exist. Design: A design defect takes into consideration the overall design of the product. Was the product properly designed? Did the manufacturer have more suitable designs which were less likely to cause harm? Did the manufacturer anticipate the use of the product? When you bring a cause of action for design defect, the ultimate premise is whether the design makes the product defective. If the product is found to be defectively designed then you may be entitled to recovery for injuries sustained If you have any further questions contact us by phone or online.