If someone is severely injured by a defective product, they can claim compensation for financial losses, suffering, and medical costs. However, these cases may be highly complex and need the involvement of an expert local attorney to attain success, which requires hard work, determination, and discipline.

There are several kinds of product liability cases, like those involving:

• Defective vehicle components
• Defective consumer products
• Defective medical products and drugs
• Inadequate usage instructions and safety advisories

Product liability means a seller or manufacturer being held liable for putting a defective product in the hands of a customer. Responsibility for any injury caused due to product defect lies with ever seller of the product who is involved in the distribution process.

In simpler terms, the law demands that a product meets the general expectations of the customer. When a product possesses an unexpected danger or defect, the product, thus, cannot be said to comply with those expectations.

There is no dedicated federal law for product liability. Generally, lawsuits fought by a local attorney regarding product liability are based on the state laws and covered under the theories of strict liability, breach of warranty, or negligence.

Responsible Parties for Product Defects

For product liability to occur, the product has to be sold in the market. Historically, the privity of contract or a contractual relationship had to exist between the supplier of the product and the person who was injured by it in order for the victim to recover any compensation.

However, currently, the requirement does not exist, which means that the injured individual needs not to be a buyer of the item in order to recover compensation. As long as the item was sold to someone, any person could be injured by the defective product and recover from their injuries.

Any party involved in the product’s distribution chain can be liable for the product defect, including:

• The manufacturer of the product
• The maker of component parts
• A party that installs or assembles the product
• The wholesale
• The retail outlet that sold the defective product

For strict liability to be applicable, the sale of the item needs to be conducted in the regular channel of the supplier’s business. Therefore, if someone sells the product at their garage sale, it would be difficult for local attorney to hold them liable in a product liability action.

Types of Product Defects

A plaintiff in a product liability case should prove that the injury-causing product was defective as well as the defect made it unreasonably dangerous, as per every theory of liability. There are 3 kinds of defects that may lead to injury and escalate supplier or manufacturer liability: manufacturing defects, design defects, and marketing defects.

1. Manufacturing Defects

They take place when there is a fault in the product’s assembly phase, and when the final product contains a component that is not required or intended to be present.

However, because the distributor, employee of the manufacturer, consumer, or the manufacturer notices the defect right away, only a small number of goods are found with a manufacturing defect.

Once the fault is spotted, the product’s manufacturer will take good care to rectify the problem, make the product again, and recall any product that might contain a defect.

2. Design Defect

It is different from a manufacturing defect, as it is the result of a flaw in the primary blueprint for the item. In simpler words, a design defect is meant to be present while a manufacturing defect is not.

A design defect is not meant for causing harm to the customer but can be intentional. Generally, a manufacturer will not know about the design defect until it results in real harm. Unfortunately, all of the manufacturer’s products will contain a defect until it is discovered, as the design defect does not mean to cause harm but can be intentional.

3. Marketing Defects

If the manufacturer fails to warn its customers of potential risks, which causes injury to a person, it is considered as the marketing defect. The product must have necessary warning labels, information about any existing hazards, potential risks involved, and steps to avoid hazards.