As consumers, we surround ourselves with products that we trust to be safe. We never expect a product to have a dangerous defect that could cause injury, but it does happen. While most products are safe to use, others can be dangerously defective. If you have been injured by a defective product, you may be able to bring a product liability claim seeking compensation for the harm you have suffered.
Common Types of Product Defects
There are three types of defects that can result in a product liability claim if the product defect led to an injury. One of these defects is a design defect. When there is a design defect, there is a fundamental flaw with the product. The danger of the product is inherent in its design. Even if the product was made according to its design specifications, it would still be dangerously defective. An example of a dangerous design defect in a product may be a car that is so top-heavy that it has a tendency to flip when it turns a corner.
Another type of product defect that can result in a product liability claim is a manufacturing defect. With this type of defect, a product had a safe design, but there was an error when the product was being made that made it dangerous. In these cases, it is generally not all of the products that are defective. It is usually only a select sampling of the product that proves defectively dangerous. For instance, an item may have been contaminated during the manufacturing process. There have been several cases as of late of packaged lettuce being processed at a facility tainted by e. coli. This would be an example of a manufacturing defect in a product.
The last type of product defect that can result in a product liability claim is referred to as a marketing defect. This type of defect is also referred to as a “failure to warn,” “inadequate warning,” or “misleading labels” kind of product liability claim. This is because a marketing defect refers to a product that has misleading packaging, fails to provide adequate warnings regarding reasonable dangers the product presents or fails to provide adequate instructions on how to properly and safely use the product in a reasonably foreseeable way. When a consumer is not properly informed about risks inherent in a product or about the way to safely use a product, this is considered a defect and it can result in great harm to the consumer. An example of a marketing defect may be a type of medication that fails to list dangerous side effects it has when taken with another commonly taken drug, such as aspirin.
Product Liability Attorneys
If you have been injured by a dangerously defective product, you deserve to be fully and fairly compensated for the harm you have endured. The product liability attorneys at the Cassidy Law Firm are here to fight to pursue your right to legal compensation. We tirelessly advocate on behalf of our injured clients. Contact us today.