Product Liability
Product liability deals with cases involving defective or unsafe
products. Manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers of products
can be held liable for damages arising from the use of defective
products. Products covered by this area of law, include food,
drugs, and real estate, as well as virtually all consumer products.
The user who is injured and seeks damages does not need to be
the original purchaser of the product. Nor does a person seeking
damages have to prove negligence in many cases. Product liability
frequently is a question of strict liability: that is, if the
product is defective and that defect caused injury, the injured
user may sue for damages as long as the product was used as it
was meant to be used and not substantially changed from its original
condition.
If the injured user was using the product in a manner not intended
by the manufacturer or retailer, or had altered the product so
that safety features were disabled, it may not be possible to
prove that injuries were caused by defects in the product. The
defendant may be able to successfully claim that the injuries
were caused by the acts of the plaintiff.
Questions of negligence and breach of warranty are also grounds
for a claim for damages under product liability. In the case
of negligence, if it can be shown that a company was negligent
in testing its product adequately or in supplying directions
for its use, the injured party probably has grounds for filing
suit. Similarly, a manufacturer implies a warranty for fitness
of use and freedom from defect when an item is sold. If the item
proves to be defective, or is unfit for the purpose intended,
an injured user can file a product liability case. In a case
of negligence, it is important that the plaintiff be able to
show that the product was defective when it left the control
of the party he is suing. It is not possible to hold someone
liable for a defect that occurred after that party had control
over the product.
In product liability, there are various areas of defects that
can occur. If a claim of strict liability is to be pursued, the
injured party will need to show that the product was unreasonably
dangerous for its intended use, due to a defect. There are generally
three areas in which a product can be unreasonably dangerous:
The manufacturer or seller can fail to warn
about dangers associated with the products use. Manufacturers
and sellers are expected to give adequate warnings about possible
dangers, and to provide clear and adequate instructions of
use. Failure to do so can cause a useful product to become
deadly. For instance, coolants used in automobiles are extremely
toxic – failure to print
warnings of this toxicity on the product labels could lead to
an accidental poisoning and thus to a suit for damages.
The product may have a design defect. This means that the product
is manufactured with a defect, even if it is assembled perfectly.
An example would be a car gasoline tank that is designed with
weak walls such that an impact can rupture the tank and cause
the car to catch on fire, even when the tank is correctly assembled
and installed.
A manufacturing defect exists when an otherwise safe product
is rendered dangerous because it is assembled improperly. A car
whose wheel is installed with missing or cross-threaded bolts
may lose a wheel at high speed, injuring or killing the driver
and passengers. If it is proved that the car was manufactured
with that defect, the manufacturer will be liable.
In all cases of product liability, it is essential to the success
of the case that the product be preserved and that all paperwork
showing the origin of the product be made available. Receipts
showing purchase, any repair records, etc., can be vital to building
a successful case.
What You Need To Know:
Insurance companies' obligations are to their stockholders and
policy holders, not to the people injured by their insured's
negligence. Insurance companies' desire to maximize their own
profits provides them with every motivation to try to deny your
claim or pay you the very minimum amount that they can get away
with. The insurance companies also have enormous advantages:
they have immense wealth, armies of experienced adjusters and
lawyers and years of experience reducing and denying claims.
At the Law Office of Stephen A. Burroughs,
our only obligation is to you, our client. We will use our experience
and every resource available to protect your interests, and we
will work hard to help you receive the full value for your case.
We will advise you every step of the way to help you avoid any
mistakes that could cost you money. There is no charge for attorney's
fees until you recover money for your personal injuries, and
we will also help you resolve your property damage claims for
no fee whatsoever. For assistance, call today at 1-877-300-3773, contact
us or submit
an free online case evaluation.
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