About Defective Product Cases
By Mitchell Proner
Published on November 17, 2010
Product liability law is a highly specialized and frequently complex area of personal injury law. In general, product liability laws state that manufacturers and suppliers can be held responsible for any injuries or deaths that result from defects in the design, manufacture, or marketing of a product. Depending on the nature of the defect, a defective product claim may be filed against any or all parties involved in the creation of the product or its transfer to your possessions, from the parts manufacturer to the retailer that sold you the product.
In most product liability lawsuits, it is not necessary to demonstrate a specific act of negligence or the failure to exercise due caution on the part of the defendant in order to present a strong defective liability case. It is necessary, however, to show that the product was, in fact, defective and that this defect made the product unreasonably - and unpredictably - dangerous to use for its intended purpose. It is also important for personal injury attorneys to demonstrate that an injury was not the result of deliberate misuse or alteration of the product and that the victim did not ignore clearly labeled warnings of potential dangers.
Product liability cases can be constructed on three different types of defects: design, manufacturing, or marketing. A design defect is a flaw in a product that made it inherently unsafe from the point of conception. In most of these cases, the designer must be shown to have been negligent, ignoring safer alternatives in the commission of a clearly unsafe product. A manufacturing defect occurs when the assembly or creation of a product or its parts fails to meet the specifications of the designer. Such cases generally do not require evidence of specific negligence, as the defect is considered ample evidence of negligence in and of itself. Indeed, in cases involving manufacturing defects, the burden of proof often rests with the defendant rather than the plaintiff, one of the rare instances in which this is true. Finally, a marketing defect usually involves the failure to disclose information about the potential dangers of a product, as well as incomplete or inadequate labeling of a product.
If you have been injured due to use of a defective product, attorney Mitchell Proner, serving Manhattan and all of New York, can help. Contact Proner & Proner today to schedule a case evaluation.
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