Product Liability Lawsuits

Every industry must hold itself to the highest standards of quality control. Risks must be kept to the lowest level. The manufacturing industry is no different; in fact, any company that sells products to the public must maintain the highest standard in safety and reduce any risk of harm to the consumer. If they fail in this regard, and injuries result, the manufacturer and all others involved in producing or selling the product should be held accountable.

At the Law Offices of Sadaka Associates, we are dedicated advocates for the consumer. You can be sure that if you have been injured as the result of a defective product, Sadaka Associates will fight for you to receive the compensation you deserve.

In product liability cases, a suit can be based on one or more of the following four theories:

• Negligence
• Breach of express warranty
• Breach of implied warranty
• Strict liability

Under the negligence theory, you must prove that the other party failed to act reasonably in designing, testing, manufacturing, selling, inspecting, or marketing the product that caused injury. The manufacturer has a duty to its consumer to provide a safe, reliable product that will work as intended. Negligence involves neglect with both the product itself and the manufacturer’s conduct regarding the product.

Under a breach of express warranty theory, you must prove that the product violated specific representations made by the manufacturer. If the product’s literature or salesperson expressly states that it will work in a specific manner, then it must.

Under a breach of implied warranty theory, you must prove that the product was not fit for the ordinary purposes for which such goods are used. If it is understood that a product will work for other reasonable or ordinary uses, then it must.

Under the strict liability theory, you must prove that defect was a substantial factor in causing the injury. Strict liability is based solely on the defective product itself, regardless of the effort the manufacturer may have put into creating the product.

Injury alone is not enough to prove a product liability case. And while each of the above theories has specific factors by which they can be proven, the foundation of such cases essentially rests upon the fact that the product was, in fact, defective.

So, what is a defect, exactly?

In product liability cases, a defect is something that makes a product unreasonably dangerous to use as intended. Defects are defined as one of the following:

• Manufacturing defects
• Design defects
• Inadequate warnings/marketing defects

With a manufacturing defect, you must prove 1) that the product did not perform as intended due to a flaw, and 2) that it was defective when it left the manufacturer’s control. Specifically, it must be established that the manufacturer is at fault; that the product defect occurred during the manufacturing process, resulting in an improperly built product.

With a design defect, you must prove that that a reasonable person would conclude that using the product as intended or for other reasonable purposes posed no unforeseeable risk. Regardless of whether an entire industry uses the same design for a product, if a design defect causes injury, the manufacturer is responsible.

With an inadequate warnings/marketing defect, also known as failure to warn, you must prove that the manufacturer deviated from its duty to warn you against latent dangers that might occur from foreseeable uses of the product. This includes inadequate warning labels and other communication regarding dangers posed by the product.