Nearly 18.3 million people visited emergency rooms in 2023!
Interestingly, all of these cases resulted from injuries from the use of consumer products.
When consumers are injured or killed as a consequence of a product defect, they have legal recourse. Product responsibility rules oversee these circumstances, determining when and how victims may seek compensation.
So, what is product liability? Let’s learn more about it as we understand when and how a victim of a product’s harm can seek monetary compensation for their losses.
What is Product Liability?
Product liability is the legal responsibility that makers and sellers bear when a faulty product hurts customers.
Individuals who buy or use items have the right to assume that they will not be damaged when they utilize them as intended. If consumers are injured due to a defect in the product, they can file a legal claim to collect compensation for their losses.
Product liability rules will control these sorts of lawsuits, determining if manufacturers, designers, or dealers should be held liable and made to pay compensation for losses.
Product responsibility occurs when any entity associated with the product is held liable for its actions. Since there are numerous aspects involved in product liability cases, it’s best to understand more about it from unbiased legal sources like ConsumerShield.
What Does A Plaintiff Have to Do in a Product Liability Case?
In a product liability action, a plaintiff must establish the following:
- The product was faulty in some way.
- They utilized the product as intended.
- That the product failure led them to incur some kind of harm.
- That they can be paid for the damage they sustained.
In product liability cases, plaintiffs do not have to prove that the defendant behaved carelessly or deliberately. This is because, in certain situations, a legal concept known as “strict liability” is applied. Under the strict rules for liability clause, defendants can prove their case and prevail in court by proving that unanticipated damage resulted directly from a product flaw.
Product Liability Claims Vs. Personal Injury – What’s the Difference?
How do product liability lawsuits vary from other types of personal injury cases?
To receive compensation in most personal injury lawsuits, such as automobile accident or medical malpractice claims, plaintiffs must establish that the defendant was negligent or acted willfully to harm them.
For example, in an automobile accident lawsuit, the plaintiff must demonstrate that any reasonable person would have been more careful than the defendant under identical circumstances. If the defendant’s negligence can be directly demonstrated to have affected the plaintiff, the defendant must pay damages.
Demonstrating negligence is unnecessary in a product liability action. This may simplify the legal process for victims damaged by consumer items to win legal action and receive the compensation they require if a product harms their health or well-being.
A product liability lawyer can help you understand how these instances differ and what that entails as you gather evidence.
Can You Sue Under Product Liability Laws?
In product liability lawsuits, the rules have changed over time.
Previously, the product’s buyer was the only one who could report a defect. The need for “contract privity” is the reason behind this. According to that legal theory, the only people with rights and responsibilities resulting from a transaction are the ones who are truly involved in it.
However, most governments no longer demand the privity of contracts. Instead, anybody who may have been reasonably harmed by a defective product can file a claim against those responsible for its manufacturing or sale.
As long as the item is sold, almost anybody can sue if it causes injury.
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