Throughout the years, you might’ve heard about various defective products across the market. What does that mean exactly?
A defective product is a term used to describe any product that poses unreasonable danger to the consumer. A defective product could be medication, hardware, motor vehicles, toys, and any other form of personal property. There are three types of defective issues that can occur:
- Marketing Defect: When a product is dangerous in a way that is not obvious to the user, and the labeling/instructions fail to address the issue.
- Design Defect: When an entire product line contains an unexpected danger in its intended use. While the designer may not realize that the product was designed dangerously, they are held accountable for creating any product that is deemed “unreasonably dangerous.”
- Manufacturing Defect: When a product that was designed properly, but is manufactured and assembled incorrectly.
Product manufacturers and sellers are responsible for placing safe goods on the market. They are liable for damages, not only to the purchaser of the product, but to anyone who might be expected to use the product. If you are harmed by a defective product, you only need to show that the product is unreasonably dangerous to hold the manufacturer, designer, distributor, or retailer accountable. Product liability cases are usually based on one of two legal theories: strict liability and negligence.
Strict Liability is a special legal theory that allows the plaintiffs (the person(s) suing the defendant) to recover damages without having to prove that the defendants were careless in their efforts. If the defendants placed a defective or unreasonably dangerous product on the market, and the defect caused an injury, that’s usually enough. If you need to show that the product was defective, you must prove that:
- You followed the directions on using the product in the manner it was intended.
- The product contained an unreasonably dangerous defect in its design, manufacturing, or it failed to properly give instructions or warn of the defect.
- The product had not been changed substantially from the time it was sold to the time it injured you.
- The dangerous defect was the direct cause of your injuries.
Negligence is when the plaintiff has to prove that the defendants were careless in producing or marketing their product and that their negligence resulted in injury. Sometimes, the question of whether the plaintiff was also negligent and contributed to his or her own injury arises. In the past, the law stated that if the plaintiff was negligent at all, he or she couldn’t recover any damages. This rule, also known as contributory negligence, often led to unfair results. Nowadays, most states have adopted a rule of comparative negligence, which allows the plaintiff to still collect a portion of the damages, even if he or she is partially responsible. For example, if a plaintiff was 10% negligent, he or she can still collect 90% of the damages suffered from the defendants. Florida has adopted this comparative negligence rule.
If you or a loved one was affected by a defective product, you may be entitled to compensation. Do some of your own research and call a personal injury law firm today.
