Types Of New Port Richey Product Liability Claims
If you have been injured or suffered damages because of a product that you or a family member used, you may have a defective product liability claim. Though the range of defective product cases is broad, the claims typically fall into three categories of
product liability[1]: (1) defective manufacture; (2) defective design; or (3) failure to provide adequate warnings or instructions concerning the proper use of the product.
Pinellas County Defectively Manufactured Products
Perhaps the most obvious type of product liability claim is when the injury-causing product was defectively manufactured. A defectively manufactured product is flawed because of some error in making it, such as a problem at the factory where it was fabricated. Essentially, the product that causes the injury is somehow different than all the identical products of its type being sold. For example, a bicycle was built with a small crack in the frame, which breaks down when the consumer rides it, injuring them.
Defectively Designed Products in New Port Richey
In the second type of product liability category, a product's design is inherently dangerous or defective.
Defective design claims[2] do not arise from some error or mishap in the manufacturing process, but rather involve the claim that an entire line of products is inherently dangerous, regardless of the fact that the injury-causing product was perfectly made according to the manufacturer's specifications.
As with manufacturing product liability claims, a victim must show that their injury was caused by the defective design itself. For example, if a person is driving a car that is prone to swerving due to its design and they are injured when the car is rear-ended by another vehicle, they will not have a products liability claim for defective design since the defect making the car swerve was not the cause of their injury.
Much of
today's product liability cases consists of design defect cases, and this field is broad enough to cover such claims as asbestos litigation, vaccine and other drug litigation, flammable fabric litigation, dangerous power tool or appliance litigation, defective medical implant litigation (including breast implants), and any other area in which a product's design makes it unreasonably dangerous for its intended use, thereby causing injury.
Failure to Provide Adequate Florida Warnings or Instructions
The third type of product liability claim involves a failure to provide adequate warnings or instructions about the product's proper use. Failure-to-warn claims typically involve a product that is dangerous in some way that's not obvious to the user or that requires the user to exercise special precautions or diligence when using it.
Failure to warn claims focus on the product's instructions, packaging, and warning labels. Generally speaking, a product manufacturer has a duty to exercise reasonable care to warn users of any known or foreseeable dangers that might arise from the normal use of the product, and which are not generally known, obvious, or readily discoverable by a user exercising ordinary care for his or her own safety. Retailers have a similar duty to warn customers of any dangers or defects. Elements of an effective warning include:
- Use a signal word (danger, warning, caution, notice)
- Identify the nature of the hazard (drowning hazard, electrical shock)
- Identify consequences of failure to follow the warning (death by drowning, electrical shock)
- Express how to avoid the danger (turn off power, avoid open flame in the area)
- Pictures are often used, especially in multiple language situations.
The use of pictures or other alert warning symbols may be combined with the signal word to provide the user with a clear indication of the level of the hazard.
Contact a New Port Richey Product Liability Lawyer
Were you injured by a product as a result of manufacture or design defect? Did the product fail to provide sufficient instructions or warnings? At the
Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA, our experienced product liability attorneys will fight to obtain all of the compensation that you are entitled to receive for your injuries and your damages. It is important to speak to a New Port Richey product liability attorney as soon as possible.
Please call our office at 727-853-6275 today.
Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA
5435 Main Street
New Port Richey, FL 34652
727-853-6275
References:
[1]
https://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0768/Sections/0768.81.html
[2]
THE RESTATEMENT (THIRD) OF TORTS PRODUCTS LIABILITY: THE TENSION BETWEEN PRODUCT DESIGN AND PRODUCT WARNINGS
Matthew Dolman
Personal Injury Lawyer
This article was written and reviewed by Matthew Dolman. Matt has been a practicing civil trial, personal injury, products liability, and mass tort lawyer since 2004. He has successfully fought for more than 11,000 injured clients and acted as lead counsel in more than 1,000 lawsuits. Always on the cutting edge of personal injury law, Matt is actively engaged in complex legal matters, including Suboxone, AFFF, and Ozempic lawsuits. Matt is a lifetime member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum and Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum for resolving individual cases in excess of $1 million and $2 million, respectively. He has also been selected by his colleagues as a Florida Superlawyer and as a member of Florida’s Legal Elite on multiple occasions. Further, Matt has been quoted in the media numerous times and is a sought-after speaker on a variety of legal issues and topics.
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