Defining Product Liability and Product Use

by | Nov 22, 2016 | Personal Injury Lawyer

Unfortunately, dangerous or defective products injure consumers annually in the US. Because product liability law differs from ordinary injury law, the rules that have been established sometimes make it simpler for an injured party to receive damages.

A Brief Explanation of Liability

Liability of this type refers to the liability of a seller or manufacturer who places a defective product into the consumer marketplace. In regular terms, the law requires that products meet the typical expectations of consumers. When a product features an unanticipated danger or defect, it no longer meets the usual expectations of the user.

Because there is no federal product liability law, liability claims are founded on state legislation. The claims are filed and categorized under the concepts of strict liability, negligence, or breach of warranty. Also, state commercial statutes, based on the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), contain warranty regulations related to product liability.

Proving Liability

For product liability to be proven, a product must be sold in the marketplace. Also, the person injured by a product does not have to be a buyer. Therefore, any person who is harmed by a defective product can recover compensation for their injuries, as long as that product is sold in the marketplace. Liability for a product defect can rest with any of the parties in a product’s chain of distribution. These parties include:

* the manufacturer of the product,
* the manufacturer of the product’s parts or components,
* the party that installs or assembles the item,
* the wholesaler, and
* the retailer that sold the product.

Strict Liability

For strict liability to be applicable, the product sales must be made in the normal course of a supplier’s business. Therefore, anyone who features and sells products at a garage sale would usually not be held accountable in this type of liability action.

Liability related to products is directed toward design defects, manufacturing defects, and marketing defects. You can discuss the specifics of this type of claim by scheduling an appointment with a lawyer who specializes in these kinds of cases. To know more about medical malpractice lawyer visit Evans & Evans Attorneys at Law. You can also follow them on Twitter.

Latest Articles

Categories

Archives