When it comes to product liability, many people look at nothing more than what they see on the surface. The reality is that defective products cause thousands of injuries every year and those cases fall under different types of product defects.
Generally speaking, there are 3 types of product defects that can lead to injury. These include:
— Design defects. As the name suggests, this is something that is present in a product before it ever reaches the manufacturing stage. The design is defective from the start, thus making it unsafe for consumers.
— Manufacturing defects. This has nothing to do with the design, but everything to do with the way that the product is manufactured or assembled.
— Marketing defects. This includes any flaw in the way a product is marketed to the public, such as the instructions, labeling or the safety warnings (or lack of).
As a consumer, you assume that every product you use is safe. However, this is not always the case. There are times when dangerous products make their way to market, such as cars with serious defects that can cause injury or even death.
If you’ve been injured by a defective product, do two things:
— Receive immediate medical treatment.
— Learn more about the product itself, including why it caused your injury.
From there, you’ll have the information you need to decide what to do next. You may be able to file a lawsuit in an attempt to recover compensation for your injuries and other damages.
Source: FindLaw, “What is Product Liability?,” accessed Jan. 09, 2017