Product Defect Attorney
How to Determine if You Have a Product Defect Claim
Manufacturers have an obligation to provide products to consumers that are safe to use, and do not put their purchaser or user in harm’s way. Unfortunately, thousands of products are recalled by large manufacturers each year due to a failure to meet these basic safety standards.
As a consumer, it is important that you understand your rights in situations in which you believe you have suffered injury or economic loss due to the failure of a faulty product or device. In such cases, we recommend that you contact an experienced product defect attorney immediately to determine whether you have a valid claim, and to pursue and receive fair compensation from the manufacturer.
When you meet with a product defect attorney, he or she will assess your claim based upon whether your case fits one of the three following categories: a defectively manufactured product, a defectively designed product, or a failure by the manufacturer to provide adequate warnings or instruction concerning the proper and safe use of the product.
- Defectively Manufactured Products
This is the type of product defect case that most people most easily recognize as cause for litigation. When a consumer purchases a product that has some flaw to it that other ones on the shelf do not, like an appliance with a faulty cord or a bad batch of juice containing a poisonous substance, then there is a chance that you may have a warranted defective product claim. Generally in these cases, there was some error or flaw in the factory or manufacturing process where the product was created, like a machine failure or a spill, that caused the flaw in the product.
It is important to note that in each of these types of cases, the damage suffered, whether bodily harm or economic loss, must have been caused due to the product flaw itself. As an example, in a vehicle claim in which the vehicle was defective due to poorly installed, faulty brakes, you would have to be able to prove that an accident or injury that occurred was due to the faulty brakes, and not a result of poor driving or other decisions under the control of the driver.
- Design Defect
The difference between a case based on design defect and defectively manufactured products is that the flaw of the defectively manufactured product is limited to a single unit or batch of an item, which design defects impact a whole line or model of product. For instance, if an identified model or line of motorcycles or vehicles is determined to have a flaw in its brake system, or if a particular washing machine model is found to have a propensity to grow mold or mildew due to faulty design, then a product defect attorney would identify your case as a design defect claim.
- Failure to Adequately Provide Warning or Instruction
When a product manufacturer does not provide consumers with sufficient warnings or instructions on how to use the product in a safe way, there is often a case to be made by a product defect attorney. Examples are a medicine that does not include information in its label about dangerous side effects, or a cleaning agent that does not inform the user that fumes are dangerous to breathe and therefore a mask should be worn while it is being used.
In each case, it is important that you receive the best representation possible by an experienced product defect attorney. We encourage you to contact us here at Gill Ladner and Priest so that we can talk to you about your potential product liability claim.
