Product Liability Attorney

Defective or dangerous products cause thousands of injuries every year in the U.S. "Product liability law" is the set of legal rules concerning who is responsible for unsatisfactory also hazardous products. Still, they are different from ordinary injury law. This set of rules sometimes makes it easier for an injured person to recover damages.

Product liability refers to a company or seller being held liable for placing a faulty product into the hands of a consumer. Liability for a product defect that causes injury lies with all product sellers in the shipping chain. In general terms, the law requires that a product meet the normal expectations of the consumer. When a product has an unexpected defect or danger, the product cannot be said to meet the consumer's ordinary expectations.

 

There is no general product liability law. Typically, product liability claims are based on state laws and brought under negligence, strict liability, or warranty violation. In addition, a set of commercial statutes in each state, registered on the Uniform Commercial Code, will contain warranty rules concerning product liability.

 

Product Defects: Responsible Parties

 

For product liability to arise, at some point, the product must have been sold in the marketplace. Historically, a contractual relationship, known as "privity of agreement," existed between the person injured by a product and the supplier of the product for the injured person to recover. In most states today, however, that requirement no longer exists, and the injured person does not have to be the purchaser of the product to recover. Thus, those who foreseeably could have been damaged by a defective product can recover from their injuries as long as they were sold to someone.

 

Liability for a product defect could rest with any party in the product's chain of distribution, such as:

 

The product manufacturer;

A manufacturer of parts;

A party that assembles or installs the product; or 

The wholesaler and the retail store that sold the product to the consumer. 

For strict liability to apply, the sale of a product must be made in the regular course of the supplier's business. Thus, someone who sells a product at a garage sale would probably not be responsible for a product liability action.

 

Types of Product Defects

Under the theory of liability, a plaintiff in a product liability case must prove that the product that created injury was defective and that the defect made the product unreasonably dangerous. There are three types of faults that might cause damage and give rise to manufacturer or supplier liability:

 

Design Defects: Present in a product from the beginning, even before it is manufactured, in that something in the product's design is inherently unsafe.

Manufacturing Defects: Those that occur in the course of a product's manufacture or assembly.

Marketing Defects: Defects in the way a product is marketed, such as inappropriate labeling, insufficient instructions, or inadequate safety warnings.

 

Unavoidably Unsafe Products

By their nature, some products cannot be made safer without losing their usefulness. For example, an electric knife that is too dull to injure anyone would also be useless for its designed purpose. It is generally believed that, as to such products, users and consumers are the best equipped to reduce risk. 

 

General Defenses to Product Liability Claims

A defense usually raised in product liability cases is that the plaintiff has not sufficiently identified the product supplier that purportedly caused the injury. Instead, a plaintiff must connect the product with the parties responsible for manufacturing or supplying it. However, there is an exception to this rule, known as the "market share liability" exception, which applies in cases involving defective medications. Where a plaintiff cannot identify which pharmaceutical companies supply a particular drug provided the drug they took, each manufacturer will be held liable according to its percentage of sales in the area where the injury occurred.

 

Another case a manufacturer might raise is that the plaintiff essentially altered the product after it left the manufacturer's control, and this alteration caused the plaintiff's injury. A related defense is that the plaintiff misused the product in an unforeseeable way and that their misuse of the product caused the damages claimed.

 

Need Help With a Product Liability Claim? Call an Attorney

Product liability actions are quite complex, and establishing legal fault requires the support and testimony of experts. Additionally, every state has its laws and specific statutes that will affect product liability action. If you are in Andover and Sudbury, then contact Denn Law Group. They are the best law firm in Massachusetts. For more details about Denn Law Group; please visit: https://dennlawgroup.com/ or contact: 978-252-4567

 

Suppose you or a loved one has suffered an injury caused by a potentially defective product. In that case, an experienced lawyer will answer your questions and protect Denn Law Group, a professional and experienced law firm in Massachusetts.