Product liability laws are a set of legal rules concerning who is responsible for dangerous or defective products when they are placed into the hands of consumers. Responsibility for a dangerous or defective product can lie within any part of the distribution chain and generally, a product is expected to meet ordinary expectations of a consumer. When a product is dangerous or has a defect that is unexpected, the product cannot then be considered to meet these ordinary expectations.
Product liability laws are typically based on state laws under the theories of negligence, strict liability, breach of warranty of fitness, or fraud and will depend on the jurisdiction where the claim is based, although most products liability cases are generally considered strict liability offenses for two reasons.
First, the plaintiff has a smaller burden of proof in strict liability cases, only being required to show that the product was defective and not that the defendant was negligent. And secondly, strict liability cases allow a plaintiff to recover the full range of damages in a tort case where they might not otherwise be able to in other types of cases.
Defects That Create Liability
Under the theory of liability, the plaintiff must show that the product that caused an injury was defective and that the defect made the product unreasonably dangerous. The three types of defects that may cause injury include:
- Design defects-Even before a product is manufactured, it is designed in a way that unsafe.
- Manufacturing defects-Defects that occur during the course of a products manufacturing or assembly.
- Marketing defects-Improper labeling, insufficient instructions, or inadequate warning of the dangers of a product.
For product liability to be considered, the product in question must have been sold in the marketplace. The injured party does not need to be the purchaser of the product in order to recover for their damages, any person that was injured by a defective product can recover for their damages as long as the product was sold to someone. However, for strict liability to apply, the sale of the product must have occurred in the normal course of business; someone who sells a product at a flea market or garage sale would likely not be considered liable in a product liability claim.
Product liability cases can be a challenge, but an experienced personal injury lawyer can review your case and determine if you or your child may have a claim against a product manufacturer, a product assembler, the manufacturer of component parts, a wholesaler, and/or the retail store that sold the product.
We at America’s Consumer Lawyer are proud to serve our fellow citizens in personal injury cases, especially when you or a loved one has been injured, and we are fully committed to protecting your rights and ensuring that the other party is held legally accountable when negligence occurs. We will fight until the very end to ensure that you are fully compensated for all injuries and losses resulting from the accident, including medical expenses, property damage, lost wages, and pain and suffering, and you won’t owe us a dime for our services.
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