Apple Valley Defective Products Accident

As a consumer in Apple Valley, California, you use numerous products every day without even thinking about it. In fact, our lives revolve around products. From the toothpaste you use to brush your teeth to the car you drive to the office to the cup of tea you drink at night, you have an expectation–and a reasonable one at that–that the products you buy and use will serve you well. As such, when a product is defective and results in an injury, the result can be shocking. If a defective product has caused you harm, our Apple Valley defective products accident attorneys can help. 

WHEN DO I HAVE A DEFECTIVE PRODUCTS CASE? 

It can be hard to know whether or not you have a defective product case after suffering an injury. For example, if you burn your hand on the stove, do you have a claim against the stove manufacturer? 

A defective product claim exists when a product defect is the cause of a consumer’s harm, assuming that the consumer is using the product as intended. A product defect must fall into one of three categories in order for a claim to exist:

• Manufacturing defect – the product is defectively manufactured;
• Design defect – the product is defectively designed; or
• Labeling defect – the product does not contain sufficient or correct information on its label.

As such, burning your hand on a stove probably doesn’t warrant a products liability claim – the stove has an inherent risk–being hot–that is obvious and not a defect. On the other hand, you may have a claim if your car’s brakes go out while you’re driving, leading to an accident, as this would not meet performance expectations and would be indicative of a defect. 

DEFENSES TO LIABILITY A DEFENDANT MAY RAISE

If you bring forth a products liability case against a product manufacturer, there are two defenses that the manufacturer (defendant) may raise to evade liability. First, that you weren’t using the product as intended. For example, if you were using your chair to stand on to reach a hard-to-get object on a high shelf and the chair toppled, the manufacturer could argue that the chair was meant to be sat in, not stood on, and therefore that it’s not liable. The second defense is that you are a “sophisticated user” through training and skill, and therefore you should have known that the product you were using was dangerous. This might be applied to a construction worker using a specialized tool, for example.

OUR APPLE VALLEY DEFECTIVE PRODUCTS ATTORNEYS CAN HELP

If you have been harmed, our Apple Valley defective products lawyers at the office of El Dabe Ritter Trial Lawyers can help. We believe that you deserve high-quality legal representation and that companies should be held liable when their products lead to consumer harm. To learn more about your rights and how we can serve you, please call us directly or send us a message requesting more information. We offer free consultations.