In any industry, a product goes through a series of processes before it ends up in the hands of the consumer. Consequently, consumers expect the end products to be safe and overall well-made. Unfortunately, there are still defective products that end up in stores, which can cause potential harm to their buyers. In the worst cases, these products can lead to severe injuries or death.
In these cases, victims can file three types of product liability claims.
What is the defect?
The basis of the types of claims is the product’s actual defect. To successfully bring a claim, the victim must prove that the product that caused the injury has a defect in any of the following:
- Design: If the design makes it unreasonably dangerous for consumers to use the product, even if the manufacturer creates it according to the original plan, then a victim may bring a claim against the designer.
- Manufacturing: If the manufacturer fails to follow the original design, which results in product flaws and would make the product’s use harmful, they can be held accountable for injuries resulting from the error.
- Marketing or advertisement: Some products can still be dangerous despite proper design and manufacturing. In this case, the manufacturer, distributor or retailer should include appropriate warnings and instructions to avoid product injuries. Otherwise, they can be liable under the law.
Depending on each case, the victim can hold liable designers, architects, engineers, manufacturers, retailers, distributors and other individuals or entities involved in establishing the product.
Burden of proof
While the law protects the legal rights of product liability victims to bring claims, the burden is upon the claimants to submit evidence to the court that they suffered injuries due to the dangerous and defective attributes of the product. It is best for claimants to gather appropriate evidence, including the product in question, to help them build a strong case in court.