Product Liability: What You Need to Know If You Have Been Injured

Every year, Americans spend millions of dollars on consumer goods like the latest in baby gear, electronics, gifts for friends and family, or a new car. With same-day product delivery to your home and one-click ordering, it’s never been easier to find the piece of furniture that completes your home or or the latest gadget to make life easier.

But when a product turns out to be defective and causes an injury, what may have been the perfect time-saver or gift can quickly become dangerous and result in catastrophic injury, broken bones, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injuries, wrongful death and more.

While many of the largest product liability lawsuits include things like tire and automobile recalls, everyday items like talcum powder, RoundupⓇ weed killer, and prescription drugs are regularly found to be defective and result in injury, as well. When this happens, the injured parties are often able to find legal justice through product liability litigation.

Product liability refers to the liability of a seller and/or manufacturer for any damage caused by one of its products. In general, product liability laws state that consumers have the basic right to expect a product they are purchasing to be safe while using it, and that companies have an obligation to design, engineer, and manufacture their products to the standard safety specifications.

When a product is not manufactured to these standards or has an unexpected defect that causes injury, you may have a product liability claim. If something like this happens to you, understanding your options is the first step to bringing the party that wronged you to justice.

As experienced product liability attorneys, our team has fought tirelessly to bring manufacturers and sellers to justice for injuries caused by defective products.

In every instance, we’ve found that understanding these three things are the first step toward justice.

What is considered a defective product?

The first step in determining if you have a product liability claim is understanding the definition of a defective product. A defective product is one that has a design or manufacturing flaw, or is faulty due to inadequate warnings, poor safety labeling, or insufficient instructions.

When a product poses an unreasonable danger to a consumer and causes physical harm, that product is considered dangerous.

What are three types of product defects?

When a product is defective, there are three types of defects that our product liability attorneys look for to help you secure the justice you deserve:

• Design Defect. This type of defect occurs when a product is either poorly designed or inadequately tested before being brought to market. Because there is a fault in the design, it typically means that every product manufactured with that design is defective, meaning other people could be at risk.
• Manufacturing Defect. Even if the design is not flawed, defects can be introduced during the manufacturing process. For instance, if a product design calls for a certain strength of screw to hold two important pieces together, but the manufacturer uses a cheaper screw that eventually breaks and causes harm to the consumer, that consumer may have a manufacturing defect claim.
• Marketing Defect.  Also known as “failure-to-warn” defects, these occur when a product is mislabeled or not sold with instructions and warning labels that allow consumers to safely use the product and avoid injury. Marketing defects also occur when a product description promises something that the product itself does not actually provide.

While not all defective products will cause injury, and not all injuries caused by products are the result of a defect, understanding these three types of product defects can help you determine if you should consult an attorney.

If you live in Florida and were injured by a product that you think has one of these three types of product defect, call our experienced product liability attorneys to help you find justice.

Who is Responsible For a Product Defect?

When a product defect causes injury to a consumer, there are several parties that could be held accountable. Product liability can rest with any number of parties in the manufacturing and distribution chain, including:

• The designer of the product
• The manufacturer of the product
• A manufacturer of parts for the product
• The wholesaler
• The retail store that sold the product
• A product installer or party that assembles the product

For more than 40 years, our team of experienced product liability attorneys has been working with clients to help identify those at fault for injuries caused by defective products to secure the compensation they deserve.

If you have been injured by a product that you think is defective, reach out to our experienced product liability attorneys for a free case evaluation, today.