When to Hire a Product Liability Lawyer

For many of us, consumerism is a massive part of everyday life. Buying new tools, weekly groceries, cleaning supplies, or the latest cell phones should make your life simpler. But sometimes, a faulty item slips into the mix. A product you trusted to help you can suddenly fail, putting you directly in harm’s way. When a defective item causes you out-of-pocket costs, severe injuries or immense trauma, you cannot afford to wait. Hiring a product liability lawyer makes all the difference in filing a successful claim. 

What Does a Product Liability Lawyer Do?

You might think that winning a defective product claim is rare. However, a skilled product liability attorney makes this complex process much easier to navigate. A product liability lawyer is an attorney who manages the legal complexities of pursuing a claim against the product’s manufacturers, sellers, or distributors of defective products. Your attorney provides valuable guidance throughout the legal process, holding parties accountable. With their help, you can build a strong claim and secure reasonable compensation for your injuries. In fact, in 2022 there were 5,826 product liability cases litigated in federal district courts. Approved class-action lawsuits also awarded $214 million in total damages from 2018-2022. You can secure your own part of these damages when you hire a product liability lawyer.  

Types of Product Liability Lawsuits You May Sue For 

Defective products involve more than just a broken item. Issues often happen behind the scenes long before the item reaches your hands.  

The most common types of product liability lawsuits include  

• Design defects 
• Manufacturing errors 
• And misleading marketing claims.  

With each issue stems from a different error, they all cause severe damage to consumers. Correctly identifying the defect helps your product liability lawyer build a much stronger case. 

Design Defects 

Design defects occur before manufacturers produce the product. The product is flawed or dangerous from its blueprint stage, even when assembling it correctly.  

A claimant can only prove a design defect is present when: 

• There is a hypothetical alternative design that would have been safer than the original design. 
• The design would have been as economically feasible as the original design. 
• And it would be as practical as the original design. 

Courts generally use two primary standards to determine if a product has a design defect: 

• Consumer expectation tests. If a reasonable customer does not find the product defective when used in a reasonably foreseeable manner, the defendant would not be liable. This can occur even if the design causes injuries. 
• Risk utility tests. The defendant is not liable for the product design defect if evidence shows that the product’s utility outweighs the inherent risk of harm. 

Attorneys can also show that some combination of both standards may apply in certain cases. 

Manufacturing Defects 

Manufacturing defects occur when the original blueprint is completely safe, but an error occurred during the assembly or construction of the product. Unlike design defects that affect every product, manufacturing errors only apply to certain batches after production. 

Your product liability lawyer can help you recover damages from manufacturing defects using: 

• Strict liability 
• Negligence 
• Breach of warranty theories 

Marketing Defects 

With marketing defects, the product itself might not be flawed. However, the product could have been sold without proper warnings or instructions regarding hidden dangers. Missing warnings puts you at extreme risk. Clear labels on the packaging or product itself can cause you less confusion on how the product works. This can also prevent you from using the product the wrong way and protect you from injury. Companies must also have an effective advertisement that specifies the potential adverse effects of the product and how you can avoid harm. Being as transparent as possible is important to avoid any possible confusion and fatalities by using certain products. 

Who May Be Liable Under a Product Liability Lawsuit? 

When filing a product liability lawsuit, there may be several responsible parties for the defects responsible for harming consumers. These parties can include manufacturers, sellers, and distributors. All entities can have different roles in making sure products get into another person’s hands. Whether it’s through the designing and manufacturing of the product, or its distribution, a lot can go wrong. This can create liability issues down the road. 

Manufacturers 

Product defects can frequently occur at the beginning of the distribution chain. A manufacturer is a company that builds either the entire product or a specific component. Manufacturers face liability under a product liability lawsuit if there are inherently harmful design defects, even if properly built. There could have been an alternative design that would have been safer for the purchaser to use. They could also be responsible for manufacturing defects, such as equipment malfunctions and human errors, making products unsafe for users. Finally, they face liability due to inaccurate marketing claims, if they fail to provide you with clear warnings or instructions.

Sellers and Distributors 

Sellers and distributors may share equal responsibility in a product liability lawsuit. Sellers are the people involved in the distribution or placement of products for commercial use, or consumption of the whole product or a specific part. Distributors buy, warehouse, and resell the product lines to retailers or directly to consumers. Both parties can face liability due to either profiting from selling or distributing a defective product. Negligence can also play a factor in their liability when sellers or distributors mishandle products or don’t inspect them properly, which causes harm to customers. This applies even if they were not negligent and did not directly cause the defect under strict liability rules. This is due to them being responsible for bringing the product to market for consumers. 

How to Prove a Product Liability Claim 

Proving your claim can be a much easier process if you follow precise legal steps. Your product liability lawyer can hold a defendant accountable for their involvement in many ways. You can prove that the defendant was responsible for the product defect based on negligence resulting in user harm. If a manufacturer also states that a product will perform in a certain way and it doesn’t, that is also a breach of warranty. This could also result in them being liable for the accident. Not to mention, you can sue and recover damages without proving negligence based on strict liability rules. 

Proving Negligence 

A product defect claim based on negligence means that the defendant owed the user a duty of reasonable care. The defendant had to have breached this rule, resulting in user harm. Negligence can be based on a person’s actions or failure to act. The omission of action is considered negligent only when the individual has a legal duty to act.  

You need all five elements below to prove negligence applies in your case: 

• There is an existing legal duty that the defendant owed to the plaintiff 
• The defendant breached that duty 
• That breach of duty harmed the plaintiff 
• The defendant’s actions were the proximate cause of harm to the plaintiff 
• And the defendant’s actions were the cause-in-fact of harm to the plaintiff 

How Strict Liability Works 

You, as an injured person from the defective product, can sue and recover damages without proving negligence. With strict liability, it focuses more on proving the defendant’s actions were at fault rather than proving the product was dangerous. It exists when a defendant is liable for committing an action, regardless of their intentions or mental state. To prove the defendant was at fault, you must show: 

• The defendant sold you the product that harmed you 
• The product was in defective condition and was therefore dangerous and caused harm to you 
• And you did not alter the product in any way after it you purchased it 

Breach of Warranty 

When a manufacturer warrants that a product performs in a specific way, and that performance fails and injures you, this becomes a breach of warranty. You may hold the manufacturer or retailer liable for harming you. Products from sellers and manufacturers have either expressed or implied warranties.  

• Expressed warranties. These are warranties that are not “read into” sales contracts by state law. Manufacturers explicitly offer such warranties to customers in the course of a sales transaction. 
• Implied warranties. Unspoken, unwritten promises, created by state law that go from sellers or merchants to customers like you. 

These warranties are critical to protect you as a consumer from tragic accidents while using products. It is important to look out for these claims when you are going through the process of filing a lawsuit.

Time Limits to File a Product Liability Lawsuit 

Each state has its own statute of limitations for filing defective product liability claims. The statute of limitations exists to uphold the quality of your evidence during your case. This way it is harder for people to misplace photos or physical evidence that help support your claim. Some states have a two-year deadline from your accident date to file, and some have a longer time limit. That said, it is important to file your claim as soon as possible to avoid missing your state’s specific deadline.  

How Much is Your Product Liability Claim Worth? 

When you make a product liability claim, there is no way to know how much compensation you may receive. Your payout is based on the severity of your injuries associated with the product. You could settle for thousands of dollars for minor injuries to millions of dollars for fatality. Product liability compensation can potentially cover your medical costs, time off work, and legal fees. To receive maximum compensation, it is important to hire a product liability lawyer to help with your case. 

Possible Damages After a Product Liability Lawsuit 

Even though you lost money on the defective product, injuries can prove much more costly in the long run. And not only did you waste your money on a defective product, but it also caused you extensive harm. In the most extreme cases, using the defective product can result in your accidental death.  

These injuries can include: 

• Severe burns 
• Bone fractures 
• Deep lacerations 
• Internal injuries 

The injuries listed can cause you to spend days, weeks, and possibly months in the hospital depending on their severity. With this, the medical expenses stack up and sometimes outweigh your insurance coverage limits. You would therefore have to pay these bills out of pocket, causing you to lose a ton of money. These combined strains make it incredibly difficult to heal without help. 

Schedule a Free Consultation With a Product Liability Lawyer

Are you worried about not receiving injury compensation for your product liability case? If so, a product liability lawyer can help you acquire a claim approval. An advocate can also help you receive the proper compensation to account for your injuries. Your attorney can investigate the defective product, build you a strong case, and even go to court to secure you a fair settlement. You deserve a fair and proper trial. Consider getting a free evaluation with a product liability lawyer today. 

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