When defective products cause injury the injured party is often entitled to compensation from the responsible party. Whether that responsible party is the manufacturer, or the distributor, the seller or the marketing company that promoted its use, the fact is there is a responsibility on the part of anyone in the chain of distribution for commercial products to protect the consumer public where necessary.
If you have been injured by a defective product, it is very important that you personal injury claim be based on the appropriate legal theory. If not, while you may be entitled to compensation, you may have a great bit of difficulty in recovering it.
There are three types of defective products personal injury claims, and successful recovery of damages must be based on presenting the claim that fits your circumstances. They are products that have a defect in their production; products that have a defect in their design; products that pose an inherent danger and are not presented to the public with adequate warning or instructions for the product's proper use.
This post will focus on the first of the three liability claims listed above:
Defect in the Manufacture of a Product
This kind of liability claim purports that a product possesses a defect not inherently prescribed by its design, that it was in effect produced in error or manufactured incorrectly as it relates to its original design. In this particular case, the product would be demonstrably different from other examples of the same model of that product on the market.
For example, let's say a motorized bike is produced without the customary break pads its design calls for. If an injury occurs as a result of that error, the plaintiff may have a defective products liability case based on defect in manufacture of the product.
This does not mean that other examples of the same defect would not exist in that product (perhaps on retail shelves or online). It just means that the product erred from the design prescribed by the manufacturer. For example, an entire batch of medication that was produced in a lab might have been tainted in the laboratory run due to contamination on a specific date. All of the medication produced on that date could contain the defect, yet it was not indicative of the manufacturer's formula.
Keep in mind that while you may possess a product that has been show to be defective, that defect has to have been the cause of your injures in order for any liability claim to have any merit.
If you have any questions about a defective products claim and would like to speak with an attorney, please call the experienced personal injury lawyers of Panio Law Offices in Chicago. We have a wealth of experience recovering damages in these cases. Call us at (708) 928-8680. We can help.