About Defective Products Lawsuits
- Injured consumers can seek financial compensation through a defective product lawsuit
- Defective product lawsuits differ from standard personal injury lawsuits because they rely on the legal obligation of product developers, manufacturers, and retailers to minimize the risks of harm to consumers. Any or all of these parties can be held liable for consumer injury, whether or not their failures were intentional.
- Successful defective product lawsuits can improve the lives of consumers everywhere, as they encourage product designers, manufacturers, and sellers to improve their quality control measures to prevent future injury.
Why Hire CSS for a Defective Product Lawsuit?
Childers, Schlueter & Smith is a preeminent nationwide law firm recognized for excellence in dangerous and defective product cases. We understand the complexities of product liability laws and have the resources and skills to obtain a favorable outcome in defective product lawsuits. Our defective product attorneys will investigate the circumstances surrounding the product that led to your injury and will ensure you receive the justice and compensation you deserve for your injuries and losses. We will keep you updated every step of the way, and if you are offered a settlement that’s less than you deserve, we aren’t afraid to take your case to trial. Please call us anytime at 404-419-9500 or contact us here for a free, no-obligation case review.
We use consumer products constantly throughout our daily lives, generally without thinking that they might cause us serious injury. Unfortunately, more than 33 million Americans are harmed by these products every year. There are many people involved in the creation of a single consumer product, all responsible for its safety and functionality. They must design and manufacture a product that functions without unreasonable risk, have quality control systems in place to keep harmful products off store shelves, and include clear directions and risk warnings on all marketing materials and product labels. If they fail to take these precautions and a consumer is injured, they can be held legally responsible in a defective product liability claim.
Types of Product Liability Lawsuits
There are three types of product liability lawsuits. The first is a product liability suit based on a design defect. A design defect occurs when there is a flaw with the design of the product. Even though the product was created as it was intended, it is inherently unsafe.
The next kind of product liability lawsuit is based on a manufacturing defect. This occurs when the product is produced or in the assembly process. It can involve a single unit or a batch of the product. Here, the consumer is not claiming that the product is inherently dangerous, but instead, the consumer is claiming that something went wrong or was flawed in the manufacturing process that caused his/her injury.
The last type of product liability lawsuit has to do with the failure to warn. A manufacturer of a product has a duty to tell consumers when using this product in an intended or foreseeable way can be dangerous. A failure to warn occurs when the manufacturer fails to include adequate instructions to use the product or instructions about the known or foreseeable hazards that come along with the usage of this product. Even after the product is made and sold, the manufacturer has a duty to continue to warn of any dangers to the consumers.
Here are several examples of what leads to a product liability lawsuit:
- Food or medicine contamination
- Failure to fully test a product for safety
- Use of poisonous or toxic materials
- Failure to label a product properly or mislabeling a product
- Unreasonably weak materials
- Conveyor belts without safeguards
- Defective airbags, seats, or seat belts
- Industrial equipment failures
What You Need to Prove a Product Liability Case
In order to bring a product liability lawsuit, you must prove that the product you were injured by was defective and that this was what caused your injuries. The basic elements include showing that: the product was defective at the time of the injury; the defective product proximately caused the injury or death; the product was in substantially the same condition as it was when it left the defendant; and the product was intended to be used or was being used in a manner that was reasonably foreseeable to the defendant.
Legal grounds to bring a product liability lawsuit:
- Negligence
- Strict liability
- Breach of warranty
- Misrepresentation or fraud
Call a Defective Products Attorney Right Away
A statute of limitations is the given time period during which a legal action can be brought. In some states the statute of limitations is only two years for product liability cases. This means it is crucial to seek legal help as soon as possible. Contact our defective products lawyers before it is too late for a free consultation to learn about your legal rights and options.
Frequently Asked Questions
Any consumer product can be found defective, from household items, motor vehicles, and prescription medication to firearms, toys, and food. Defects that can qualify for a defective product lawsuit include design, manufacturing/production, and marketing.
- Design defects occur when the person(s) envisioning and constructing the product fails to catch an inherent flaw that will render every unit dangerous to consumers, such as airbags that explode into pieces, hip implant materials that break easily, or electronics that spontaneously catch fire.
- Manufacturing defects apply when a product’s design is safe, but an error occurs during mass production that makes specific units dangerous. An example would be infant formula produced during a time when the factory was contaminated with bacteria but is safe outside those dates.
- Marketing defects are found in the packaging and/or advertising of a product, such as a missing warning label about choking hazards in a children’s toy or an addictive medication that is touted as non-habit forming.
While there is no federal product liability law, defective product claims are generally based on three theories.
- Negligence – Basing your claim on negligence means you must show that the defendant(s) owed you a duty of reasonable care to provide a safe product, and their failure to do so resulted in your injury. Manufacturers, for example, have a duty to construct a product safely, while suppliers must provide non-defective parts.
- Strict Liability – This theory doesn’t require you to prove who is at fault; only that the product was defective and caused your injury. But if the defense can prove your own actions caused your injury, you could lose your case. Strict liability is where the three types of product defects come into play.
- Breach of Warranty – A product warranty is a legally binding promise, express or implied, that the manufacturer/seller will repair or replace any product that fails to meet safety, performance, and quality standards.
Awards in defective product cases can include medical bills, lost wages/future earnings, physical, mental, and emotional suffering, and more. In cases of especially reckless misconduct, the court may impose punitive damages, or financial punishment, on the defendant(s). These help deter other companies from putting out defective products, especially in mass tort cases.
This can be hard to predict due to the complex nature of product liability. An experienced defective products attorney can help give you a better idea of your possible earnings based on the extent of your damages.
The first thing to do after being injured by a defective product is to seek medical attention. Medical records showing you needed treatment will strengthen your claim. Also gather any photographic or videographic evidence, the names and contact information of any witnesses to the injury, and the product itself. Do not alter the product in any way, as you’ll have to prove that your injury occurred despite following instructions.
While you can file a claim on your own, a defective product lawyer can make the process easier and the outcome more successful. A defective product lawsuit requires an intricate knowledge of product liability laws. Especially in cases with more than one defendant, you will need multiple experts to satisfy your burden of proof. Proper evaluation of your damage is based on many factors and is crucial to your case; without an expert in this area, your claim may be settled out of court for much less than you deserve. A defective product lawyer will also make sure your claim is filed on time. In most states – including Georgia – you only have two years from the time of the injury to file your defective product claim. That may seem like a long time, but gathering the necessary evidence and documentation can take much longer than you might expect.
Some product liability cases have made nationwide news and resulted in life-changing awards for plaintiffs. Examples include NEC baby formula that causes life-threatening disease in newborns, recalled Philips CPAP sleep apnea machines, and Roundup weed killer linked to multiple cancers.
