3 Types Of Product Liability Claims

Most of us expect the products we purchase to be safe to use. Unfortunately, not everything on the market meets this standard, leaving thousands of people at risk of serious injury. It is, however, possible for those who sustain injuries because of a defective product, to recover compensation by filing a product liability case.

There are three main types of product liability claims and which one a party files will depend on what went wrong with the item in question. This makes determining what caused a product to become defective or dangerous particularly critical, so if you were hurt by a consumer product, you should speak with an experienced Fort Lauderdale product liability lawyer who can evaluate your case and advise you accordingly.

Design Defect Claims

Product liability claims can be brought against manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, and retailers, all of whom can be held liable for creating dangerous products, but only if an injured party can prove that the product had one of three types of defects, the first of which is referred to as a design defect. A product is defectively designed when it is manufactured according to the proper specifications, but those specifications are unsafe.

To succeed when filing this type of claim, a person must be able to prove that a product’s design was unreasonably dangerous. This in turn, requires evidence that an item failed to perform safely as a consumer would expect it to when used as intended, or when used in a way that is reasonably foreseeable. Toys for small children that pose a choking hazard, for instance, could support a defective design claim, because even though not used as intended, a manufacturer could foresee that a small child could put the product in his or her mouth.

Manufacturing Defect Claims

The second type of defective product claim is based on allegations not of a design defect, but of a manufacturing error. Basically, although a product was designed safely, something that occurred during the manufacturing process made it dangerous. Brakes that were properly designed, but were not manufactured in accordance with the designer’s specifications and were instead installed incorrectly, would fall under this category. Like design defect cases, a person can only recover compensation if he or she was using the product as intended and was then injured because of the defect.

Warning Defect Claims

The third and final type of product liability claims are based on marketing defects. In these cases, while there was nothing wrong with the design of the product or its construction, a lack of sufficient warnings made it dangerous to consumers. Defective drug claims are often filed under this legal theory when a drug manufacturer fails to warn patients about the harmful side effects of a particular medication. If a person were to ingest the medicine and suffer a side effect as a result, he or she could file a warning defect claim in court.

Set Up a Free Case Evaluation Today

Not all consumer products are safe and could in fact, cause serious injury. To learn more about this type of claim and whether you could qualify for compensation, please contact the dedicated product liability lawyers at Boone & Davis by calling 954-566-9919 today.