Nobody expects to be injured by a household product or a defective piece of machinery, but it happens to tens of thousands of Americans every year. When the manufacturer is at fault for these injuries, the injured party can seek damages through a product liability claim. In general, these claims can be broken down into one of three different categories. In today’s blog, we take a closer look at the three types of product liability claims and how you can collect compensation if you are injured.
Defective Product Claims
Product liability suits can typically be grouped into one of these three categories:
Defective Manufacture – The most common type of product liability suit is when a defectively manufactured product results in an injury to the user. Companies have quality control agents to ensure the products the release are safe, but sometimes a defective product can slip through the cracks. When it results in injury, the user can seek compensation. Examples of a defective manufacture include:
- A porch swing with a cracked chain that breaks when a normal load is applied.
- A tainted batch of lettuce that causes illness.
- A skateboard with a fragile binding that breaks during normal usage.
If these manufacture defectives result in your injury, you can pursue compensation. When thinking about this category, imagine this as more of a one item or one batch mistake as opposed to a large scale manufacturing issue, which we’ll touch on in the next point.
Defective Product Design – While this may sound similar to the above point, this category emcompasses a more large scale product defect. It’s not just that one item on the line caused problems for the individual, it’s that the entire product line had a defective issue that caused injuries to users. Many manufacturers try to recall a product in the event that they find out that their product is causing injury, but for many people the damage has already been done.
Examples of defective product design include:
- A smoke detector that doesn’t properly detect smoke
- An airbag that doesn’t deploy properly in the event of a crash
- A vehicle that is prone to flipping when turning at lower than normal speeds
- Sunglasses that do not provide ultraviolet light protection despite claims that they do
With these types of claims, the entire product line is defective.
Failure to Warn – Finally, product manufacturers are obligated to warn consumers about potential dangers with their products, as many products can be inherently dangerous if used incorrectly. That’s not to say you can intentionally mishandle a product and receive compensation, but accidental mishandling of a product without adequate warnings can absolutely lead to compensation. This is why medications often warn against driving after taking the drug and why bandsaws warn users against operating the machine without proper eye equipment. If a company fails to provide reasonable warnings on their product, they can face injury claims from users.
If you are injured through normal use of a product and your injury falls into one of the above classifications, know that you have compensation options for your injuries. The first thing you should do is contact an injury lawyer like Dean and the team at Margolis Law Firm. We’ve handled countless defective product cases in the past from all of the above categories, and we know how to get you the compensation you deserve. For more information, or if you just want to see if you have a case, give Dean and his team a call today.
