Product Liability
Under common law, the sale of a product was considered a commercial transaction upon which only the parties to the commercial contract could sue. Today, the law has evolved to the point where virtually anyone injured by a defective product (a product that is unreasonably dangerous for its intended use) can bring an action for damages against any party in the distributive chain of the product, whether it be the manufacturer, the wholesaler, the retailer, or even the maker of a component part.
Product liability is the area of law that deals with accountability for injuries resulting from dangerous products and defective product accidents. Products subject to product liability law run the gamut from food, drugs, appliances, and automobiles to medical devices, surgical implants, blood transfusions, boats, tobacco, and even commercial jets.
Generally, there are three categories of "Products Liability" cases:
- Manufacturing Defect cases involve products that come off the assembly line with some defect that makes them different and more dangerous than all the other similar products that came out of the same assembly line. This is the "one-in-a-million" defective product that injures the victim.
- Design Defect cases involve a product that is inherently defective by virtue of its design or manufacture. The problem is not limited to one defective product (as in a manufacturing defect case), but every item that comes out of plant has the same defect that makes it dangerous. This type of case is sometimes referred to as the "less dangerous alternative design case," because a victim is sometimes required to show that there was a similar, safer design that could have been made economically.
- Failure to Warn cases focus on instances where the warning on a product is non-existent, erroneous, or inadequate. It is interesting to note here that, depending on the jurisdiction for the case, a plaintiff's conduct in using the product may be taken into consideration in these claims.
Product liability cases can be extremely complex, expensive to prosecute, and vigorously defended by manufacturers. When a defective product injury occurs, a thorough investigation and evaluation of the cause(s)--conducted by a personal injury attorney with direct experience handling product liability accidents and injuries--is always the best way to proceed. Once the cause and severity of the injury or damages is determined, a defective product injury lawyer and the victim can reach an informed decision about whether or not to pursue a lawsuit or other legal option.
The skilled personal injury lawyers and defective product injury attorneys at Schwartz Zweben LLP have successfully represented many victims of defective product injury. They understand the complexity of investigating, litigating, negotiating, and resolving product liability claims and are fully knowledgeable of the complicated issues, defense strategies, and legal options involved. In addition, the law offices of Schwartz Zweben LLP and its affiliate law firms have a team of investigators and consultants with the experience and knowledge to successfully and independently investigate the cause of any accident caused by any defective product. As a result, our qualified defective product injury lawyers have consistently recovered substantial damages for our clients injured by defective products.
If you sustain an injury because of a defective product, or if a loved one has died as the result of a defective product accident, contact the law offices of Schwartz Zweben LLP. A personal injury lawyer on our team can offer you a free, confidential evaluation of your product liability case and advise you of your rights.
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