If you have sustained injuries or damages due to a product you used, you may have a defective product liability case on your hands. But recovering damages for a defective or flawed product is not the most straight-forward legal process ever, as there are quite a few things that you need to establish and prove.
One of the most confusing elements of California’s product liability claims is determining what type of product liability claim you have (if any). Generally, there are three types of such claims:
- defective manufacturing;
- defective design; or
- failure to warn.
Today, we brought our Los Angeles product liability attorney from the Compass Law Group, LLP to help you get a better understanding of California laws. So… Do you actually have a valid claim, or does your case NOT fall into either of these three categories?
Defective manufacturing
One of the most common reason to sue the manufacturer, distributors, assembler, seller, retailer and other parties in the distribution chain for your injuries and damages caused by a defective product.
Fact: suing more parties for an unsafe product can significantly increase the value of your settlement amount.
A product can be considered “defectively manufactured” if any of the parties responsible for the manufacturing or distribution of the product made an error, making it potentially dangerous and unsafe for consumers.
You may have a manufacturing defect case on your hands only if you were injured and/or suffered other damages as a result of using a product with a manufacturing defect. For example, a car with faulty brakes, or a yogurt containing a harmful substances (which should not be there).
Defective design
Under California’s product liability laws, a “design defect” refers to a problem or condition a product features that caused injuries or other damages. A product with a defective design is inherently dangerous or useless, our best defective product liability lawyers in Los Angeles explain.
You may be able to bring a product liability claim suing the manufacturer for a defective design even if the product was manufactured perfectly and according to the company’s specifications. Many people tend to be confused when it comes to telling the difference between a design defect and manufacturing defect. The biggest difference between the two is that a manufacturing defect is an error made during the manufacturing process (which, if avoided, would not have caused injuries). A design defect, on the other hand, is something that makes a product inherently unsafe and makes an entire line of products dangerous.
For example, a power saw that fails to protect your hands while using it, or a line of smartphones that burst into flames whenever fully charged to 100 percent.
Failure to warn
Failure to provide adequate warnings or instructions concerning the use of the product, and failure to warn of potential hazards while using the product is the third type of product liability claims, our attorneys at the Compass Law Group, LLP say.
You can file a claim seeking damages if you can prove that the product, which caused your injuries and/or damages, is dangerous in some way that was not made obvious or clear to the consumer in warning labels, and requires adequate warnings for the user to exercise special precautions while using it.
For example, failure to warn that a kettle has heated surface that can cause burn injuries when holding by its handle, or anti-depressant pills that do not include a warning that it may cause life-threatening side effects if taken in combination with another commonly known medication.
Are you confused what type your product liability claim is? Fear not! Here at the Compass Law Group, LLP, our defective product liability attorneys in Los Angeles are available 24/7 to hear you out and give you a free consultation about your particular case. We are here to advise you on the best course of legal action to recover damages.
