When a commercial product, like a hair dryer or an electrical heater, causes injury, it’s not always the manufacturer’s liability that is in question. In some cases, the products were not used in accord with the manufacturer’s product warnings and instructions and as such caused injury to the user. However, there are also times when the product itself poses a risk because of its makeup. Often when this kind of product defect occurs, the manufacturer and those involved with the chain of distribution may be at fault. Personal injury law views manufacturer defects in two distinct ways that you should understand if you have been injured by use of a product and are not sure if manufacturer’s liability may be an issue. They are:
- Defect in the Design of the Product
- Defect in the Manufacture of the Product
Defect in a product’s makeup can occur when the design, the manufacturer’s specifications to which the product should adhere, is flawed. When the product’s design specifications pose an inherent risk, likely one not accounted for, and there are no warnings to account for that risk provided with the product, that risk may create a liability for those in the chain of distribution. They may include the designers, marketers and even retailers who brought that product to market in some cases. When this happens all of the products on the shelves are often flawed and may pose a risk. Consumers may see product recalls and class action lawsuits result from this.
So when you find a product that includes ingredients that are later discovered to be harmful, this could be considered a manufacturer’s defect from a personal injury perspective. The product could be recalled and those who have suffered injury or harm as a result of its use may have a defective productsclaim against the manufacturer and its collaborators in the distribution process.
On the other hand, when the product defect is not inherent in the design itself but in the manufacture of a lot of the product, for instance, or a single product, that can also open the manufacturer and their cohort to liability. This occurs when there is a defect in the manufacturing process. That defect could include anything from the use of inferior component parts to a breakdown in the manufacturing process that caused the product to deter from the specifications.
This kind of defect would render the product in question or even the lot it came from different from the other products of the same make and model on the consumer shelves. So when you see a manufacturer or a food producer recall a specific lot of a product they sell because of the potential of a risk, it’s likely because that lot experienced a defect or deter from the planned production specifications that caused not only a difference from the other representative products on consumer shelves, but a risk or danger to consumers.
These nuances are important in so much that they distinguish where the product defect originated and help to identify the responsible parties. It’s important to have the benefit of an experienced personal injury attorney in any case that involves product defect so that your case can be appropriately assessed and potential damages may be identified.
If you’re looking for an experienced Chicago personal injury lawyer to help navigate your personal injury claim, we will fight assiduously for your right to the compensation you deserve. Call Bizzieri Law Offices at 773.881.9000. The case evaluation is free, and we never charge a fee unless we recover damages for you.