Manufacturer’s Responsibilities, and the Role of Product Liability Lawyers

Product liability are the laws and regulations that hold manufactures, suppliers and others who make products responsible for any injuries incurred from the use of their products. Consumers are protected by the CPA (Consumer Protection Act) which covers consumers from the use of defective products. There are 3 main types of product liability claims a product liability lawyer can help you with, which include: manufacturing defect, design defect and a failure to warn (which is also known as a marketing defect).

When dealing with claims regarding product liability you should seek out an experienced product liability lawyer who will educate and guide you on the correction decisions.

Who is Liable?

According to the laws of product liability, everyone involved in the distribution of a product is held responsible. This means that right from the company who designs an unsafe product, to the manufacturers that build a faulty product, right down to the vendor who sells the product to the public; every one of these parties is able to be sued. Your product liability law firm will have staff on hand who have experience with claims against every step of the product liability chain of manufacturing and distribution.

Depending on the nature of the injuries, evidence will need to be provided to prove who is actually liable. Proving who is involved and responsible is a “gray area” of product liability, and a moment where the value of product liability attorneys is very evident.

How to Classify a Product as Defective

If the product is unsafe or if any part of the product is unsafe, it can be classified as a defective product. The marketing of the product will also be taken into account when determining if a particular product is defective or not. If adequate warnings or instructions aren’t supplied with the product, this could also be cause for product liability lawyers to classify a product as defective.

Claiming Negligence

A claim on negligence is based on the fact that a company is meant to ensure the safety of others when developing and manufacturing a product. Failure to do so can result in the company being liable for negligence. As stated before, parties outside of the manufacturing and production may also be held accountable as well. Experienced product liability attorneys will be skilled at making the most prudent choices.

The negligence of a manufacturer could include such things as:

• failure to properly test a product
• bad design choices which render a product unsafe
• a failure to give adequate warning and/or recall the product in question after it is found to be dangerous

Proof of Injuries

In order for the claim to be successful, the court must agree that the product is defective. If a consumer is hurt in the act of using your product you have to prove that the cause of the accident stems from a defective product.

You will need to work together with your product liability lawyer to create a strong case and provide evidence to prove a product is defective. It is important to find a product liability law firm with a strong track record in successful cases.

When to Hire a product liability attorney?

If you believe you have a case where you can claim product liability then you will need to seek the advice of a lawyer on how to proceed. It will be nigh impossible to piece together your own trial without the help of a product liability lawyer. Without expert knowledge of the laws surrounding product liability, your lawsuit will most likely be unsuccessful.