In the US, thousands of injuries are attributed to dangerous or defective products every year. The set of legal rules concerning who is responsible for these products and the injuries they cause is known as “product liability law.” Since product liability law differs from ordinary law, this often makes it easier for the injury victim to recover personal and property damages. Generally speaking, the law requires that products meet consumer expectations and not be dangerous or defective. As per law, you are entitled to receive compensation for the injuries sustained due to a defective product. It is best to hire the assistance of a personal injury lawyer in Lincoln to ensure that justice is not delayed.
3 Categories of Product Liability
In the simplest of terms, product liability claims attempt to recover monetary and non-monetary damages when a person suffers injury from any consumer product. The two most common defenses in product liability try to prove one of the following:
• the defendant wasn’t responsible for injuries to the plaintiff
• the plaintiff has no grounds for holding the defendant responsible for their injuries
The manner in which they defend themselves depends on the specifics of the plaintiff’s claim. Product liability cases are broken down into three separate categories, namely:
• Breach of warranty – claims based on the defendant’s contractual responsibilities and whose failure to uphold them resulted in injuries to the defendant
• Negligence – while cases involving negligence typically deal with a defect in the manufacturing process or the product’s design, the focus is on the manufacturer
• Strict liability – when a defective product causes injury to a person, this is known as strict liability regardless if the design, manufacturing process, or product packaging is defective and causes said injury
8 Common Defense Strategies
Product liability law applies to manufacturers and sellers who are liable for allowing a dangerous or defective products to get into the hands of the consumer. When an injury results from a defective product, the responsibility typically lies with the seller and anyone else in the distribution or supply chain. The 8 most common defense strategies in California product liability cases include:
• the defendant was not the designer, manufacturer, distributor or seller of the product
• the plaintiff didn’t use the product as instructed or in a reasonable manner
• the plaintiff failed to prove they were injured by said product
• the plaintiff’s injuries were caused by something else
• the plaintiff’s injuries were caused by their own negligence
• the product was negligently altered or repaired by someone else
• the product wasn’t defective
• the product wasn’t defective when the defendant released it
To learn more about skilled legal representation in a product liability lawsuit, call the Braff Legal Group at (909) 280-0098 today.