Defective Products

Defects affect just about every type of commercial and consumer product. Automobiles, industrial and agricultural equipment, and various kinds of home and recreational products may prove to be hazardous or unreasonably dangerous. When defective products cause injuries, the Locks Law Firm can provide a product liability attorney with the experience required to represent you against careless manufacturers, designers and sellers and assert your rights. If you have sustained a serious injury, a product liability lawyer is an invaluable resource.

What Is a Defective Product?

According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), almost 30 million people are seriously injured annually as the result of defective products. Product liability claims are generally categorized by their defect into one of three categories: design, manufacturing, or marketing defects.

A defective product is one that comes to market containing safety hazards that could have been eliminated or guarded against but were not.  When the failure to eliminate, guard, or at least warn against these hazards results in serious personal injury or death, the product is considered defective and unreasonably dangerous under the laws of many states. Inadequate design, careless manufacturing, cost cutting and inadequate warnings result in thousands of foreseeable and preventable injuries or wrongful deaths each year to people using that product in a reasonably normal fashion. Products most often are defective because of the failure to design out or guard hazards. They may also be defective because they malfunction or break, or because they have insufficient safety equipment or guards. They may also have been sloppily manufactured or assembled. Electronics, automotive products, agricultural equipment, recreational devices, and industrial equipment commonly cause serious injury because of one of these failures.  When they do, they may be grounds for a meritorious product liability lawsuit.

A defective product is considered to have a design defect when a flaw in the intentional design makes the product unreasonably dangerous for foreseeable uses. A defective product has a manufacturing defect when the product does not conform to the designer’s specifications. (Manufacturing defects are generally considered to be among the easiest product liability claims to prove because the product’s own design can be used to show that the product is defective.) Marketing defects represent flaws in the way a product is marketed, such as improper labeling, insufficient or incorrect instructions, or inadequate safety warnings such as to use the product with a safety device. An example is that any tractor with a front-end loader should also have a falling object protective canopy. A negligent or intentional misrepresentation in the marketing of a product may also give rise to a product liability claim. Contact the Locks Law Firm if you have been injured by a defective product and would like to schedule a case evaluation

Who Is Liable for My Injury?

Depending on the individual product, several parties may share liability for an injury. State common law mandates that the manufacturers and distributors of farm machinery, construction equipment, and riding lawn mowers have an obligation to produce safe products and warn users of the potential operating dangers. Your attorney will thoroughly investigate the case in order to assign liability appropriately. After analysis of the accident, designers, manufacturers, distributors, retailers, repair specialists, maintenance staff and their employers may be deemed culpable for your injury by your product liability attorney. A product liability attorney from the Locks Law Firm can provide expert analysis of your case in order to help you determine the best course of action.

Contact a Locks Law Firm Product Liability and Defective Products Lawyer

Defective products cause thousands of preventable injuries in America each year.  It is important for consumers to be educated about their rights in the event of an injury caused by a dangerous or defective product. If you or a loved one has been injured by a defective product, contact the Locks Law Firm today to schedule a free, confidential consultation and case evaluation.