In most cases, a consumer hurt by a defective product can file a lawsuit for compensation related to their injuries.
A product liability lawsuit seeks to establish that the product which caused the injury was defective, and the defect made the product unreasonably dangerous.
A product is considered defective if it doesn’t work as expected and exposes its user to an unexpected danger. As long as the product is used in its intended fashion, and it still results in harm to the user, the product may be considered defective.
Helpful Product Liability Pages:
Letters:
Sample NOTIFICATION Letter
Sample DEMAND Letter
Negotiations:
Tips for Negotiating Settlements
More Tips for Settling with the Adjuster
Some products are dangerous by design, such as knives, explosives, chemicals, chainsaws, etc. A product liability lawsuit involving an inherently dangerous product would have to establish there was insufficient warning of its dangerous nature.
If a product is inherently unsafe, the user is still responsible for using it in a reasonable way. If a customer used a product as intended, and it malfunctioned anyway, the customer will likely be able to file a lawsuit for any injuries he or she suffered.
If you burn your hand on a stove, you probably don’t have a case because it’s expected that a stove will be hot. Also, putting your hand on the stove is an unreasonable use of the product. But, if the stove was advertised as “cool touch,” and you got burned anyway, you may have a case that the stove was defective.
Product Liability Case Types
Defective and dangerous products come in all shapes and sizes. (Before delving into your specific case type, review the product liability basics.) Almost any product has the potential to cause harm. Below, we cover the most common types of products that cause injuries in the United States. These cases include:
For parents, here are some toy safety resources.
Food Contamination
In today’s world of packaged food and daily restaurant meals, food contamination and poisoning is a particularly common problem. Every day, hundreds of people contract harmful illnesses and are injured by foreign objects in their food. We’ve put together a good overview of food contamination and poisoning claims here.
You can also read specific articles on foreign objects in store-bought food, and what to do if you’re the victim of a restaurant food injury. Of course, you should always seek immediate medical treatment. After your condition has stabilized, then you can pursue compensation.
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