Editorial Standards

We strive to bring readers the most accurate and reliable information about current product liability and personal injury lawsuits. Our editorial standards have been developed with our mission statement in mind to guide our approach to researching, writing, and publishing high-quality content that is easy for the average visitor to understand.

Research, Writing, Editing and Fact Check Process

Our editorial team consists of experienced researchers, writers, editors, and expert reviewers who are committed to helping consumers find skilled legal help. We have adopted the Code of Ethics of the Society of Professional Journalists as our standard for creating credible content on ConsumerSafety.org.

All content published on our site undergoes a multistep process to ensure accuracy and completeness prior to posting:

• Extensive research and review of existing literature on the topic
• Development of an initial draft based on the findings of the research
• Fact checking, organizational review, source audit, and general editing by a member of the editorial team
• Expert review by the appropriate legal partner and/or medical specialist
• Detailed copyediting to catch any remaining grammatical issues
• Final reading to confirm readability and comprehension

Before publication, we also review the content to ensure it is easily readable on a variety of device screens, including desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones.

HONcode Compliance

Throughout the editorial process, we adhere to the HON Code of Conduct for medical and health websites. We do so in the following ways:

• Authority: We clearly indicate who the author is and what qualifications they have.
• Complementarity: We provide supplemental information without replacing the doctor-patient relationship.
• Privacy: We use current security standards to protect the personal data of our site visitors and those who request a free case review.
• Attribution: We cite all of our sources, using direct links when appropriate, and we include the latest modification date in the footer of each page.
• Justifiability: We use reasonable, balanced information from reliable journalistic, peer-reviewed, governmental and non-profit sources to ensure the validity of our information.
• Transparency: We provide contact information in the footer of every page, as well as an easily accessible contact form for questions.
• Financial Disclosure: We provide clear information about our sponsor and how we interact with law firms.
• Advertising Policy: We clearly indicate advertisements where applicable.

Medical Fact-Check Review

Many of the lawsuits we cover on our site involve serious health issues and medical conditions associated with drugs, medical devices, consumer products, and injuries. As such, we understand the importance of making sure the medical information on our pages is current, reliable, and sourced from authoritative medical sources.

To ensure the accuracy of our lawsuit pages, we have implemented a rigorous medical research and fact-check review process for every page. For every page, we:

• Use the most recent medical, governmental, and non-profit sources (see below for more on our sources)
• Review it internally by a medical writer on our staff.
• Send the page to a qualified, practicing physician to perform a medical fact-check review.

On each legal page, we clearly indicate the most recent fact check date using an image similar to the one below. When clicking on the date, you can also see the name of the medical fact-checker with a link to their profile containing information about their education and qualifications.

Medically Fact Checked
Example medical fact check notice

Note: Our medical reviewers ensure the accuracy of medical statements. They do not necessarily endorse any specific litigation.

Sources and Citations

As part of our editing process, we review the sources used by writers to ensure that we are referencing original, reliable sources. The types of sources we use include:

• Peer-Reviewed Journals: We go straight to the original article when citing medical studies, clinical trials, and case reports, rather than relying on potentially inaccurate interpretations.
• Reputable News Outlets: For late-breaking news, we rely on distinguished national and local newspapers, television stations, news magazines, industry publications, and journalistic blogs.
• Nonprofit Organizations: We cite information and statistics provided by not-for-profit educational, research, and advocacy organizations that have been rated highly by charity evaluators.
• Government Agencies: We frequently link to materials published by U.S. regulatory agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), among others. We occasionally link to other national and international agencies, such as the World Health Organization (WHO) or the European Centre for Disease Prevention & Control.

All sources used in writing our informational pages are provided at the bottom of the page where they are cited. Some sources may also be linked in the text of the page. Sources for blog posts are linked within the text of the post. We periodically review sources to ensure that citations are correct and the links still work.

Content Curation

ConsumerSafety.org is dedicated to connecting people with legal representation for product liability and personal injury lawsuits related to problematic drugs, medical devices, consumer products, and harmful situations. To accomplish our mission, we create content that provides readers with information about current lawsuits, general legal information, and updates to legislation, regulation, litigation, medical research, and other related areas.

Our content generally falls under the following categories:

• Lawsuit Profiles: In-depth information about why people are filing lawsuits over a particular drug, medical device, consumer product, or hazardous condition
• Legal Resources: General legal information to help educate consumers about what to expect if they choose to file a lawsuit
• News Updates: Recent developments related to our featured lawsuits, as well as interviews with legal experts, medical professionals, and individuals who have experienced problems related to the lawsuits we cover
• Case Reviews: Forms to contact our legal partners for anyone who believes they may be able to file a lawsuit

Updating Content

We periodically review the content on our site to ensure it is up to date and accurate according to the latest news reports, regulatory guidance, and medical studies. All content updates go through our writing and editorial process described above to ensure that it meets current quality standards.

Note: In general, we do not update news articles, unless a major development happens shortly after the news story is originally posted. Updates will be clearly indicated at the top of the article to avoid confusion.

Removing Content

From time to time, we may decide to remove content on our website that no longer fits with our mission. When we remove such content, we will also remove links pointing to the content and implement automated redirects to bring visitors to the most relevant page or section of the site.

Contributed Content

All of the content on our site is written by staff writers or our legal partners. ConsumerSafety.org does not accept unsolicited content for publication.

Corrections

We take pride in our careful attention to detail. However, from time to time, a factual or grammatical error may make its way onto the website. If we discover the error, we will correct it as soon as possible.

Readers who spot a potential error may submit it through our contact form or send an email to Managing Editor Curtis Weyant.