Product liability is an area of law that holds manufacturers, distributors, and other parties financially responsible for injuries that a consumer suffers from a malfunctioning product. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, accidents involving defective products costs the U.S. economy approximately one trillion dollars every year.
If you suffered harm after trying to use a faulty product for its intended purpose, you may be able to seek monetary damages with the guidance of a local personal injury attorney. Allow our capable defective products lawyers to explain your legal options and help you obtain the compensation you deserve.
Before a manufacturer puts a product on to the market, they must ensure it will be safe for its intended purpose and for use as directed or as reasonably anticipated. They could be found liable if a product does not function as expected and causes someone to suffer an injury. If enough people are harmed by the same product, it may be possible to file a mass tort claim against the manufacturer.
Any item could be the subject of a product liability action if it was unsafe and caused undue harm. Examples include:
A defective products attorney could review the circumstances of an incident to determine whether a flawed product was responsible for someone’s injuries. If so, they could bring a claim against the manufacturer, the distributor, and anyone else involved in offering the dangerous item for sale.
Manufacturers and others who profit from products are strictly liable for any defects that cause injury. This means if a product does not perform up to expectations and someone gets hurt as a result, the injured person does not have to prove the manufacturer’s negligence to recover damages.
They just have to prove that the product was defective and that the defect caused their injury. An injured person and their dedicated attorney could prove that a product was defective by presenting evidence of faulty design, manufacturing error, or inadequate labeling.
When a manufacturer could have used a safe design but instead went with an inherently defective and risky one, they can be held strictly liable for failing to make it safer for users. The claimant must show that an alternative design was economically feasible and viable from a manufacturing perspective.
An error in the manufacturing process causes a single item or batch of items to be dangerous. An injured person must prove how the defect occurred (i.e., the raw materials were of poorer quality than normal, there was a power outage that interrupted production and caused a problem, or another unusual occurrence) to collect compensation in a product liability claim involving this type of flaw.
Products must come with warning labels and adequate instructions for safe use. If a label does not explain the product’s known dangers or how to avoid them, the manufacturer can be held liable for the subsequent damages.
A claimant must prove that the product presented unreasonable or undisclosed dangers when used as intended or reasonably expected. A product liability lawyer could work with manufacturing experts to establish that an item was unreasonably dangerous.
Sometimes people suffer injuries because a particular product malfunctions frequently. Courts will normally consolidate many similar cases into a single mass tort action. Occasionally several mass tort actions might proceed simultaneously in different regions of the country.
Mass tort actions have achieved significant victories for consumers in recent years, such as the Agent Orange chemical exposure and asbestos exposure cases. More recent examples of mass torts are cases alleging 3M earplugs issued to U.S. combat troops were defective and led to hearing loss, and women suing Johnson & Johnson and other talcum powder manufacturers alleging the product caused ovarian cancer.
If using a defective product resulted in harm to you or your loved one, you should not bear the cost of the manufacturer’s mistake. Manufacturers must ensure their products are safe for their intended use and should be held liable when they fail to do so and cause avoidable injuries.
A knowledgeable defective products lawyer with our firm understands this complex area of law and has the skills to seek a settlement that provides fair compensation for your injuries. Reach out today to schedule a case review.
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