Product Liability and Recall

Thought Leadership

Microplastics: Tiny particles, big risks

By: Catherine Hing and Cassandra Wills At a glance Omnipresent exposure across multiple industries: Microplastics emanate from manufacturing, construction, automotive, textile, cosmetic and other sectors, with scientific studies confirming their presence in the human body and organs, potentially linking them to respiratory disorders, neurological symptoms and other health issues. Early litigation has focused on misleading […]

By : Joshua Weiler Nov 6, 2025 Comments Off

Thought Leadership

New Zealand Insurance Market Trends Update 2025: The key developments shaping the industry in Aotearoa

In a rapidly changing landscape, staying informed is essential to navigating the complexities of New Zealand’s insurance market. That’s why we’ve released our New Zealand Insurance Market Trends Update 2025 – a comprehensive analysis of the key developments shaping the industry in Aotearoa. Packed with valuable insights, the report delves into emerging legal trends, evolving […]

By : Joshua Weiler Feb 27, 2025 Comments Off

Articles

Lithium-ion battery risk update: potential first fatalities in NSW

By: Jonathan Maher and Aisha Lala In this short update we note that NSW authorities are reporting what are believed to be the first fatalities related to lithium-ion battery fires. If confirmed, this tragedy underscores the growing concerns around the risk posed by lithium-ion batteries, and the potential insurance implications. The incident On 29 February […]

By : Anja Vogel Mar 12, 2024 Comments Off

Articles

High Court appeal marks increase in Fair Trading Act penalties

By: Misha Henaghan, Joseph Lill and Elliot Copeland At a glance At the end of 2023, a High Court appeal by the Commerce Commission resulted in a Fair Trading Act 1986 (FTA) fine for supplying unsafe goods more than doubling from $87,750 to $195,000. The financial strength of NZME Advisory Limited (NZME) was given weight […]

By : Anja Vogel Feb 12, 2024 Comments Off

Articles

New recovery opportunities under consumer protection legislation

By: Misha Henaghan, Anna McElhinney and Phoebe Nikolaou At a glance The possible pool of targets for recovery has increased with the New Zealand Court of Appeal recently holding that New Zealand’s Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 (CGA) applies to overseas manufacturers of goods supplied to consumers in New Zealand and the Fair Trading Act (FTA)1 […]

By : Anja Vogel Feb 8, 2024 Comments Off

Articles

Keep a close ion them: national warning notice is latest reminder of risks from Lithium-ion batteries

By: Jonathan Maher and Aisha Lala At a glance The federal government has just issued a national safety warning notice about the risk of fire from certain LG home energy storage system batteries, which are large Lithium-ion cells. The latest warning notice adds to the 23 recalls between 1 January 2017 and 31 December 2022 […]

By : Anja Vogel Dec 20, 2023 Comments Off

Articles

Australia leads the world in banning engineered stone

By: Cassandra Wills On 13 December 2023, Australia became the first country to nationally ban engineered stone, following a unanimous decision by Commonwealth, state and territory workplace ministers. The ban aims to protect the lives and safety of Australians working with the product, and is a critical development given the high numbers of stone benchtop […]

By : Anja Vogel Dec 14, 2023 Comments Off

Thought Leadership

NZ Insurance Market Trends Update 2023

We are pleased to share our latest edition of NZ Insurance Market Trends Update. Our annual report explores legal and claims trends, legislative and regulatory developments and significant recent decisions that impact insurers, underwriters, brokers and corporates operating in the New Zealand insurance market. Our report includes more than 30 articles that look at trends, […]

By : Anja Vogel Sep 18, 2023 Comments Off

Articles

Get to know Shane Swinerd, new partner and property, material damage and business interruption specialist

Tell us about your journey to becoming a partner at W+K I came over from DLA Piper New Zealand in Feb 2022 alongside Peter Leman, Caroline Laband, Misha Heneghan and the team. It was so exciting and refreshing coming to W+K together and feeling so welcome by everyone here (and reuniting with so many old colleagues […]

By : Anja Vogel Aug 18, 2023 Comments Off

Articles, Hidden, Thought Leadership

Product Liability Update – Issue 1, December 2022

Welcome to Wotton Kearney’s Product Liability Update, a snapshot of the key trends, areas of regulatory focus, and emerging risks in product liability insurance in Australia and New Zealand. In this issue, we look at the ACCC’s focus on safety issues affecting young children, recent case highlights from Australia and New Zealand, and the latest […]

By : joanna li Dec 2, 2022 Comments Off

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