Defective products put consumers at significant danger of suffering horrific consequences-catastrophic injuries such as trauma to the spinal cord, traumatic brain injury, burns, amputations, and wrongful death. If a victim experiences a catastrophic injury due to a defective product, they are entitled to file a product liability claim.
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Types of Dangerous Product Defects
When a product liability claim is brought forward, it is classified under one of three basic categories:
- Defective Design – Even a well-manufactured product can be defective if the product’s design itself is flawed. When the risk of harm while using a product is deemed to be greater than the possible benefits, a product’s design specifications are said to be defective. This extends to prescription drugs, medical devices such as implants and surgical meshes.
- Manufacturing Defect – Errors in the manufacturing process that alters a product from its intended design can create dangerous products that harm consumers. Included here would be dangerous products such as defective airbags or construction defects.
- Defective Marketing – Manufacturers are required to adequately warn consumers about the risks of using a product, product liability, along with providing instructions for safe product use.
In each case, many parties could potentially be held responsible for a dangerous or defective product.
Common Injuries Associated with Consumer Product Accidents
Injuries from consumer product accidents are often quite varied as the degree and type of injury depend on the product that malfunctioned.
Here are some of the most common injuries associated with consumer product accidents:
Injury from faulty car parts (tires, seatbelts, airbags)
When critical parts of a car malfunction, there can often be a serious or fatal injury. Whenever you get behind the seat of a car, you are placing serious trust in the manufacturers of the vehicle that the vehicle will operate properly. When a part of your car does not operate properly, it can be extremely scary and sometimes life-threatening. That is why it is so important to hold big car industries responsible for the pain and damage that they have caused.
Home appliance burns
Home appliances are some of the products most likely to malfunction. Whether it be a toaster or a water heater, home appliance defects can often lead to some pretty serious third-degree burns! A product liability lawyer can help you navigate what is the fault of the consumer and what is the fault of other parties.
Injury from defective power tools
Sometimes the tools we trust to fix and improve our homes can cause serious personal injury to us or the people that we love most. Often, the reason for this is not the fault of the consumer but rather is a result of a product accident.
Sickness
Another “injury” from consumer product malfunction is creating sickness within consumers. A common example of this can be found in children’s toys, which can contain such a high level of lead or phosphorus that it can lead to sickness. Product liability law dictates that the manufacturer holds primary liability for their negligence and faulty product.
Who Can Be Held Liable for a Defective Product Injury?
Designers, manufacturers, distributors, retailers, and more in the chain of distribution are all possible culprits when a defective product harms a consumer.
California evaluates most product liability cases with a** *Strict Liability rule***, meaning that any entities involved in the creation, distribution, sale, and marketing of a consumer product can be named responsible, even if their actions did not negligently lead to the product’s defect; you must only prove that the product was defective and caused your injuries.
Overall, the following parties may potentially be found liable in a dangerous product or defective medical device case:
- Manufacturer (Both product and parts)
- Independent Testing Laboratory
- Distributor
- Supplier
- Sales Representative
- Retailer
- Hospital, Clinic, or Doctor
When a product fails, victims and their families have their lives permanently altered. Loss of income, long-term medical care costs, pain, and suffering-all occurring while victims are trying to heal from and move past their injuries.
Wilshire Law Firm’s defective product lawyers allow victims to focus on healing while we utilize our technological and financial resources to get our clients the compensation they deserve in their product liability lawsuit.
How Can I Prove the Product was Defective?
Many product liability claims are assessed with a Consumer Expectation Test, which asks us to examine three things:
- Was the product used as intended or misused, but in a common way?
- Was the product unreasonably dangerous or defective?
- Were the victim’s injuries the result of the product’s defect(s)?
In practice, these questions help to identify what category a victim is likely to bring their product liability claim under- defective design, manufacturing defect, or defective marketing. Additionally, liability cases may center on whether the warnings and instructions provided with the product were sufficient enough to prevent consumer injury.
Types of Compensation That Can Be Recovered in Product Liability Cases
Californians who suffered injuries from a dangerous or defective product may be entitled by law to recover damages from the parties who caused their injuries.
Economic Damages are awarded to cover past, present, and future monetary losses, including medical bills, property damage, lost wages (both past and future), treatment and household services, and other out-of-pocket expenses.
General or Non-Economic Damages account for the pain and suffering and emotional trauma that product liability victims and their families go through.
In some cases, Punitive Damages designed to punish those involved in the chain of distribution are also awarded, to deter future wrongdoing and serious injury.
What to do if You’ve Been Injured by a Defective Product
Seek Medical Care
Your first and primary goal should be to make sure you and your loved ones are okay! Seek medical help as soon as possible. Even if the injury is minor, you should still seek medical treatment so that your doctor can have an official record of your injuries (evidence like this will be essential in your personal injury case!).
Find Out If There’s a Recall
Search to see if there is a recall on your defective product. There should be information on the website to return the recalled defective product, get a refund, or get a new non-defective product.
Seek Legal Counsel
The first step to building a strong product liability case starts with a strong personal injury lawyer. Contact Wilshire Law Firm today to be connected to a top product liability lawyer in California.
How Our Los Angeles Defective Product Attorney Can Help
Hiring an expert product liability attorney is any dangerous or defective product victim’s first step to securing the compensation they deserve as a victim.
Don’t wait for either-legal representation for your case should be sought sooner rather than later, as the statute of limitations for filing a product liability claim can be as short as two years from the date of injury.
The award-winning lawyers at Wilshire Law Firm possess the legal talent, along with the technological and financial resources you need to prove your case.
Since 2007, we’ve successfully recovered hundreds of millions of dollars on behalf of our clients. Call us NOW at (800) 501-3011 to get started with your FREE case consultation with a qualified personal injury attorney.
