Companies, like manufacturers, allege that their goal is to create safe and reliable products intended for the consumer’s use and enjoyment. When a person buys a product, he or she rightfully expects that product to operate safely. Oftentimes, however, consumer products are flawed due to an unsafe design or product defect, which can result in a person being seriously injured or even killed. Thousands of people are injured each year due to flaws in consumer products.
Usually, manufacturers of consumer products are not the only companies that can be held accountable for causing a person’s injury or death. When this type of tragedy occurs, the law holds accountable any and all individuals or companies involved in the chain of distribution. Those that can be held accountable include the designer, manufacturer, assembler, supplier, retailer, and even a repairer. Product liability cases can be very complex and should only be fought by attorneys who are devoted to making sure companies do not put their profits before their consumer’s well-being.
The Krause & Kinsman Law Firm has attorneys that will not only fight for you every step of the way to ensure you receive financial recovery for your loss, but will put pressure on manufacturers to design and manufacturer safer products so that you and your loved ones will not be at future risk. If you or a loved one has been injured, contact our office and fill out a free case evaluation to learn how our attorneys will fight for you. Our firm will advance all expenses for your case and protect your rights. We don’t get paid unless you get paid. Call us today for a free consultation.
Types of product defects:
Manufacturing Defects: Occur when the product does not conform to the designer or manufacturer’s specifications, which causes the product to be unreasonably dangerous. A manufacturing defect means that the product is not flawed in its design, but rather, there is a defect because of some malfunction or error that occurs during the creation or assembly of the product. The product is evaluated against the producer’s own standards, and compared to like products. Manufacturing defects will usually only be found in a small percentage of the manufactured goods.
Design Defects: Exist before the product is manufactured. Design defect cases arise where there is some flaw in the intended design of the product, which makes it unreasonably dangerous. Unlike manufacturing defects, this type of defect will ordinarily be found in all of the manufactured goods, and not just a small percentage. Courts will take in to account whether the product’s design was unreasonably dangerous before it was ever produced and whether the manufacturer or designer should have anticipated the potential danger that caused a person to be injured.
Marketing Defects: Includes failing to warn about the product’s hidden dangers. These defects can result due to insufficient instructions or inadequate labeling. Marketing defects can also arise where there has been a negligent or intentional misrepresentation concerning the product’s use or safety. When the product contains a hidden danger, manufacturers must mitigate the danger by providing adequate warnings to the user. Any party in the chain of distribution may be liable if warnings or instructions could have prevented injury from foreseeable risks or if the warnings themselves, when followed properly, caused the injury.
What are product liability cases?
Products liability cases can be based on claims of negligence, strict liability, or breach of warranty, as well as consumer protection statutes, depending on the jurisdiction in which the claim is based. Claims of negligence can be brought where a manufacturer has a duty to exercise reasonable care in designing, manufacturing, or marketing a product, and failed to do so, which caused injury to the consumer. A manufacturer owes a duty to exercise reasonable care to the ultimate consumer of a product, however, a consumer bringing a product liability claim does not need to be the actual purchaser of the product.
Product liability is generally considered a strict liability claim. Strict liability claims focus on the product itself, rather than the actions of the manufacturer. If a product is defective and unreasonably dangerous, a manufacturer may be held liable even if they are not found to be negligent in making the product defective. Therefore, by removing the issue of whether the manufacturer was negligent, or at fault, strict liability can allow a consumer to recover where he or she otherwise might not. In design defect cases, many jurisdictions evaluate the consumer’s expectation of the product to determine whether the product was defective and unreasonably dangerous.
Breach of warranty claims arise where the consumer relied on certain promises by the manufacturer or seller, but those promises were not met. There are two types of promises a consumer relies on when a good is sold: express warranties and implied warranties. Express warranties are statements, written or verbal, made by the manufacturer or seller about the products safety. An implied warranty is a promise by the manufacturer or seller that the product, if used as intended, will not cause any harm. A claim for breach of warranty usually covers any person who would reasonably be expected to use the product.
With the Kansas City product liability attorneys from the Krause and Kinsman Law Firm you have lawyers who are determined to obtain a proper reward on your behalf for any physical and mental damages suffered from using a defective product. Don’t suffer because the manufacturer or designer of a product wanted to save a few dollars. We can help.
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