When a Dangerous Product Injures You…
When you buy a product, you generally expect it to be safe to use. As a consumer, you rely on the manufacturer to design a product that will not cause harm when used as intended. When you get injured from a product that is unreasonably dangerous, you may be able to sue its manufacturer and seller for your injuries.
Product liability is an area of personal injury law that deals with defective products. Manufacturers often have strong reasons to keep a defective product secret. Product recalls and lawsuits cost companies big bucks and injure their brand identity. Product liability lawsuits and actions by government regulators help make manufacturers accountable for the safety of their products.
If you have been injured by a defective product, call Fort Lauderdale personal injury lawyer John Clarke for a free consultation at (954) 556-8952.
When Are Manufacturers Liable for Defective Products?
Florida law provides that manufacturers are strictly liable for dangerously defective products. This means that a consumer injured by a dangerous product does not need to prove that the manufacturer was negligently or intentionally produced a dangerous product. Rather, the consumer only needs to show that the product is unreasonably dangerous when used as intended. The law eases a consumer’s burden of proving liability because manufacturers are in the best position to design, test, and sell products that are safe.
The law groups product defects into three categories: design, manufacturing, and marketing defects. Marketing defects occur when a product is advertised or sold for a purpose other than its intended use. This type of defect may include inadequate warnings. Design defects are conditions that are inherent in a product’s design. For example, a lawnmower with a fuel filter made of flammable material would be a design defect. Manufacturing defects are problems that occur during the manufacturing process. In other words, a product that has a manufacturing defect was produced in a way that didn’t conform to the manufacturer’s own specifications for it.
It is important to note that Florida law makes all parties in the chain of distribution of a defective product strictly liable. So, if you purchased a defective lawnmower at Home Depot that caused you an injury, you can sue Home Depot as well as the manufacturer. Depending on the retailer’s contract with the manufacturer, the retailer may be able to recover against the manufacturer.
Proving Your Case
To win your defective product case, you must prove the following elements:
Loss. You must show that you suffered an actual injury or financial loss as a result of using the manufacturer’s product.
Defect or failure to warn. You must prove that the product was 1) defectively designed, 2) defectively manufactured or 3) that the manufacturer knew or should have known of the product’s risks and failed to warn you.
Cause. You must show that the defect caused the injury.
Product used as intended. You must show that your injury occurred when you were using the product as the manufacturer intended it to be used.
Important Laws and Cases
Florida Statute Section 768.81 sets forth the elements of a Florida product liability action. West v. Caterpillar Tractor Co. , 336 So. 2d 80 (Fla. 1976) and Aubin v. Union Carbide Corp., 177 So. 3d 489 (Fla. 2015) are important holdings that set forth the strict liability consumer expectation test for product design defects.
Defective products cases are often complex and not what they initially seem. When products turn out to be dangerous and cause injury that’s when you need a good defective products lawyer on your side.
In a product liability suit, you can recover compensation for:
Medical bills for treatment of injuries caused by the defective product
Lost income
Emotional distress resulting from the accident or injuries
Pain and suffering
Wrongful death if the defective product caused the death of a family member
Many product liability cases are resolved in class action lawsuits because dangerous products often cause injuries to many consumers in different areas. John Clarke can help you decide whether joining a class action product liability lawsuit is in your best interest.
John Clarke is an experienced Fort Lauderdale personal injury attorney who handles defective product cases. Call today for a free consultation at (954) 556-8952!