Who is to blame for a defective product?
The production and sale of substandard and defective products is one of the causes of various personal injuries in the United States. However, the provisions of personal injury law that govern these cases are in some ways simpler and more undemanding than any other injury law. This further allows injury victims to easily obtain money damages from the manufacturer or seller of the product. In addition, the “Product Liability Act” stated that product manufacturers, distributors, retailers, and product component manufacturers may be liable for delivering dangerous goods that cause injury to consumers. Therefore, producers and distributors of products must meet the regular expectations of their customers regarding their products.
On the other hand, the theory of liability states that victims who file their product liability claims must prove in court that they did indeed purchase a defective product that caused them injury. The following are the types of defects that may impose penalties on product manufacturers and sellers:
o Design defects: these defects are considered inherent to the product before it was assembled or produced. This has something to do with the design of the product making it unsafe for public use or consumption. That is why manufacturers need to ensure that the product design is well planned and structured.
o Manufacturing defects: these defects come along with the assembly of the product. Any imperfections and misalignments, therefore, in following the designer’s or manufacturer’s product specifications and standards can be used by victims to prove the company’s guilt. Victims usually have to prove in court that they should not have their injury but for the manufacturer’s negligence or if the “strict liability rule” applies, they just have to prove that the product is actually defective.
o Marketing defects: These defects resulted in the incorrect way of selling the products. These further include mislabeling of the product and failure to warn about the possible risk in using their products.
But then again, as in any other legal case where the defendants have time to explain their views, the manufacturers or distributors of the product can point out that the victims’ tampering with the product actually caused a malfunction or caused them harm.
In this regard, victims may choose to seek the legal advice of a professional product liability lawyer to evaluate their cases and teach them how to answer questions that may be raised by manufacturers. With sufficient understanding of existing product liability laws and techniques on how to accompany opponents’ defense strategies, a legal expert can easily bring justice to their clients’ claim cases. This will entitle victims to obtain monetary compensation from the responsible product manufacturers.