Product liability claims: 3 basic approaches

On Behalf of Scott Marshall Injury Attorneys | September 23, 2021 | Defective Products

Many of us make purchases every day under the assumption that the items we receive will be safe to use. Typically, this will be the case. However, sometimes products purchased on the market fail to meet this demand. Defective products leave millions of Americans at risk of injury, with thousands even facing potential death. 

When injured by a defective product, consumers may have a legal right to compensation. As a result, it is crucial to identify what exactly made the product dangerous in the first place. Outlined below are three basic approaches to product liability claims:

1. Claims involving defective designs

Manufacturers, distributors and retailers can all be held liable for defective products that cause injury under the appropriate circumstances. One of the most common types of product liability claims relates to defective designs.

For example, the product in question may have been tailored perfectly to very specific designs — but the specifications themselves may have been unsafe to use as anticipated and directed.

2. Manufacturing defect claims

In contrast to defective designs, manufacturing defect claims aim to establish that although the design may have been suitable, an error occurred during its engineering.

One common example relates to vehicle brakes. Braking systems may have been properly designed but made from inferior materials that break down unexpectedly. Similar to defective design claims, the injury must have been caused when the product was being used for its intended purpose. 

3. Defective marketing claims

The third type of product liability claim relates to defective marketing. These claims often involve cases where the design and manufacturing process may have been flawless, but defective marketing made the creation dangerous. Companies have a legal obligation to produce adequate safety warnings. Otherwise, they may leave themselves open to product liability claims.

This is why companies put specific instructions on how to operate everything from curling irons to crock pots in a safe manner. If you’ve been injured due to a defective product, learn more about your legal options. You shouldn’t have to pay for a company’s mistakes.