lWhen Canadians purchase products, they expect them to work properly and not pose an undue risk of injury. Unfortunately, this is not always the case: from time to time the organizations that design, manufacture, and market consumer products make errors that result in harm to customers. In some of these cases, an experienced product liability lawyer can help injury victims access compensation by holding the company that put the dangerous product on the market accountable.
Product liability cases fall into three categories: defects in design, defects in manufacturing, and defects in marketing. In each of these situations, the injury victim will have to substantiate their claim. If you’ve been hurt by a defective product, make sure to preserve your proof of purchase, any manuals or packaging that came with the product, and the product itself.
Let’s take a closer look at the three types of product liability claims:
Defects in Design
For this variety of claim, your product liability lawyer will focus on decisions the manufacturer made in designing the product, especially with regards to its safety. If a product is rendered unreasonably dangerous by an inherent flaw, the manufacturer may be liable for injuries it inflicts.
FindLaw.com offers the following example of defective design:
“Assume that a metal fan was covered by a guard, but the openings in the guard were three-quarters of an inch wide. In using the fan, the plaintiff’s hand slips between the gaps in the guard, and the plaintiff is injured by the blades of the fan. The plaintiff may base a product liability suit on the design of the fan, arguing that the guard’s openings were unreasonably large and that it was foreseeable that someone’s hand would touch the blade.”
Defects in Manufacturing
Products that are well-designed but badly assembled may also cause injuries to consumers. For example, if a bottle of prescription medication or a packaged food product becomes contaminated during processing, individuals who become ill would have a valid personal injury claim. The same would be true if an airbag were incorrectly installed and failed to deploy during an accident.
However, manufacturing defects are often difficult for a product liability lawyer to prove, as manufacturers may be able to cast doubt on exactly when the defect occurred.
Defects in Marketing
Marketing defects occur when a safely designed and manufactured product carries inadequate instructions or warnings. Manufacturers have a duty to instruct consumers on how to use their product and warn of any hidden risks it might carry. Warnings should be specific and conspicuous, and instructions should be clear and easy-to-follow; even reasonably safe products can cause harm when used incorrectly.
If you have suffered an injury as a result of a product’s defective design, manufacturing or marketing, you may have grounds to initiate a product liability lawsuit. Contact a product liability lawyer at Neinstein Personal Injury Lawyers today to find out how we can help and what your next steps should be.
Photo credit: dual lic/Wikimedia Commons
Greg Neinstein
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