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Companies that manufacture and sell products must ensure they are safe for use before introducing them to the market. If your reasonable use of a product still causes an injury, then the manufacturer, distributor, or retailer could be liable for your damages.
Product liability cases can be complex and they require the services of a seasoned personal injury attorney. An East Brunswick product liability lawyer could review your situation, explain who may be at fault, and pursue the producers of the defective product for compensation.
A successful product liability claim must demonstrate a product was defective and make a direct connection between the defect and the plaintiff’s losses. This task is sometimes straightforward, such as if a pressure cooker exploded and caused burns and shrapnel wounds. In other cases, the connection is less obvious.
An East Brunswick attorney could investigate an incident and determine whether a defective product might have had a role. For example, vehicle accidents often occur in part because an internal component failed. Defective products often cause fires, explosions, workplace accidents, sporting injuries, falls, and other mishaps. Dangerous personal care products or medications sometimes cause illness and even wrongful death in users.
If the investigation reveals a defective product was a factor in an incident that caused injuries, a legal professional could assert a claim against the party responsible for the error.
Manufacturers and others in the supply chain have a duty to only make, distribute, and sell products that are reasonably safe for their intended purpose. If they breach this duty, they can be strictly liable for an injured person’s losses.
Strict liability means that the plaintiff must prove a product is defective but do not necessarily have to prove that the manufacturer was careless, reckless, or intended to harm. According to New Jersey Statutes Annotated § 2A-58C, proving a product defective requires an East Brunswick attorney to establish one of the following three allegations.
A design defect means that any example of the product manufactured according to specifications could be unreasonably dangerous. A plaintiff must prove that another design could be just as effective, economically feasible, and safer.
A plaintiff could allege a manufacturing defect if an error in the production run caused one example or one batch of the product to be unsafe. If possible, the plaintiff should produce the item that harmed them to prove a manufacturing defect.
Most marketing defect cases involve product labels or marketing that do not adequately warn of the product’s risks. Sometimes, the plaintiff claims the product instructions did not provide sufficient information to allow someone to use it without risking injury.
Working with a lawyer is critical in a defective product case. An injured person trying to manage a claim alone could be at a disadvantage. Insurance companies often approach injured people offering quick settlements, but these lowball offers are attempts to exploit an injured person’s anxiety. The best response is to direct the insurance company representative to a product liability attorney.
If evidence suggests a defective or malfunctioning product caused an injury, an East Brunswick attorney could send a demand letter to the manufacturer and others in the supply chain asserting the plaintiff’s claim for damages. In most cases, the potentially responsible party replies with a denial of responsibility but also an offer of modest compensation. At that point, negotiations begin and often leads to a reasonable settlement.
Sometimes the responsible parties assert the plaintiff was responsible for their injuries due to misusing the product. If the plaintiff’s use was reasonable and the manufacturer should have assumed a consumer might use the product the way the plaintiff did, the defense is unlikely to succeed.
The companies that profit from selling a product should be responsible for compensating someone who suffers losses because of its poor design or instructions. Unfortunately, these companies have teams of lawyers and insurance adjusters whose job is ensuring that you settle for less than you deserve.
An East Brunswick product liability lawyer understands the companies’ tactics and knows how to pressure them to pay a reasonable settlement. Call now to speak with a member of our team.