When consumers purchase an item, they don’t usually think that it could harm them. However, consumers can be seriously injured by defective products.
Product defects and injuries
There are defects in design, defects in manufacturing and defects in warnings. A defect in design occurs when there was a foreseeable risk of harm when the product was
manufactured. The product must have been manufactured as intended and used for its intended purpose. The design defect usually involves a safety flaw and if a consumer is injured, the company that produced the product may be liable.
Even if a product is well designed, it can still harm a consumer. A defect in manufacturing occurs when the product is not manufactured properly and it does not follow its intended design even though the manufacturer took all possible care. While manufacturers are regulated, defective products can still slip through their controls.
Finally, there are instances where products do not have a design flaw and are manufactured properly, but still cause harm to consumers. Manufacturers must provide reasonable instructions or warnings when the product could cause a foreseeable risk of harm to a consumer. If the manufacturer does not provide instructions or warnings and a consumer is injured, the manufacturer can be found liable.
Damages
Consumers can file a personal injury claim against a manufacturer for negligence and in strict liability cases. With an action for negligence, the consumer must prove that the manufacturer breached its duty to him or her, the breach caused an injury and he or she suffered damages. In strict liability cases, the consumer does not need to prove negligence, just that the defect resulted from the manufacturer’s error. The manufacturer is strictly liable for the product defect that happened during the manufacturing process.
If a consumer has been injured by a defective product, he or she may be entitled to compensation. There is help available to pursue a personal injury claim.
