Personal injury due to manufacturer defect of products happens in the U.S. even though quality controls and rigorous manufacturing standards are governed by tough product laws. At Sette Law, our Sacramento personal injury attorneys know that product liability litigation requires keen understanding of complex laws governing product liability. In this blog we’ll cover a few of the major concepts involved in liability for products that cause personal injury.
Lawyers explain that any party in the manufacturing chain may be held liable for damages inflicted. Our Sacramento injury attorneys have identified product defects at key points such as manufacturing, assembly and at the point of sale. Interestingly, over the history of liability for products that cause personal injury, lawyers watched as law expanded to include non-tangible products like gas, real estate and written materials. Yet another interesting thing for consumers to know is that there is no federal law that governs products liability. Our Sacramento injury attorneys must refer to product liability statues enacted by individual states. However, The U.S. Department of Commerce has developed the “Model Uniform Products Liability Act” that states can voluntarily use and that our Sacramento injury attorneys may reference in personal injury claims.
Lawyers explain that behind a complex of laws is a simple principle: A product manufacturer may be liable for a personal injury if a person was using the specific product as intended when the personal injury occurred. Attorneys add that the user also is required to read and be aware of all manufacturer warnings regarding the product. These are responsibilities of consumers, according to Sacramento injury attorneys.
Further, there are two kinds of product liability claims lawyers work with – one involves Strict Liability and the other is manufacturer Negligence. In strict liability a personal injury lawyer will show that a product was defective and was present prior to the manufacturer offering the product on a marketplace or to a buyer in Sacramento. Product liability attorneys will also establish that the defect directly caused the injury.
Our attorneys can also look at other aspects to identify product defects that lead to personal injury. Sometimes a problem originates during the manufacture of products – in this case, according to Sacramento liability and injury attorneys – only a few products out of a batch may be defective and cause an injury. Lawyers say that when consumers use a given product for a purpose other than its intended purpose and an injury occurs, they will look first at the manufacturer’s instructions and warnings. If the description is not clear and concise, according to our Sacramento injury attorneys, the manufacturer could be held liable for the defective product injury.
Additionally, lawyers can look at Marketing Defects in a product liability claim. If marketing claims were untrue or misleading, this can be considered another source of a product defect in a personal injury case.
Our Sacramento liability attorneys may call on expert witnesses to support a personal injury client. Because the manufacturing process is often multi-faceted (including everything from engineering to production, design and distribution) expert witnesses can help support the personal injury claims of our Sacramento clients. Liability attorneys specialize while also having an understanding of the manufacturing chain and its many participants.