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Millions of products are manufactured and sold every year in the United States. Some of these products cause serious injuries to the people who use them because they are defective or dangerous. Such products and their usage, gives rise to the term ‘Product Liability’.
If so, you may have a possible legal case against the manufacturer of the potentially dangerous drug or medical product. Simply fill out the short form below and an experienced legal expert will contact you as soon as possible!
Product liability is when any maker or seller of any product is held accountable for supplying a customer with a defective or dangerous product. Anybody who is responsible for putting a defective product within the reach of consumers, which can cause them injuries, can be held liable for such products. Whether it is the maker of the product, the maker of any component parts, the wholesaler, or the retailer; all can be held liable for a defective product.
Defective Product
Under the law, every product should meet the ordinary expectations of a customer. If a product has a defect or a danger that cannot be expected by the customer, then such a product is not said to meet the ordinary expectations of the customer; and the seller can be liable for such products if they lead to any injuries. Product liability does not fall under any federal law, but is governed by state laws.
Who Can Be Responsible For Product Liability
For strict product liability to occur, first and foremost, the product has to actually be sold to someone. This sale should be within the normal activities of the seller and not a garage sale type of sale. Once a sale has been made and if that product injures someone; then any party in the entire chain, from manufacturer to retailer, can be held responsible and liable for such a product.
Initially, there needed to be a ‘privity of contract’ between the seller of a product and someone who was injured by it, for them to file a case under product liability. This means that only the person who actually bought the product could file such a claim. But now most states do not require such a contract and thus you can recover damages even if you were not the person who bought the defective product, as long as it was bought by someone.
Kinds of Defects in Products
In a case of product liability, it is necessary for the victim to prove that a product was defective, which in turn made it unreasonably dangerous. Any product could be defective in the following ways:
Unavoidably Unsafe Products
There are some kinds of products that can be dangerous to consumers, but such danger is unavoidable or may render the product itself useless. For instance - a sharp knife. The sharpness of a knife could be dangerous to people who use it, but if the knife was made to be dull, then it would not serve its purpose. Such products are known as Unavoidably Unsafe Products.
In the case of such products, it is difficult to establish product liability as even though the products are dangerous, their degree of danger is apparent to consumers and they should take proper precautions during the use of such products. But in the case of unavoidably unsafe products, the manufacturer has to give adequate warning about the dangers or risks involved with such products or else they could be held liable for any damages.