Types of Liability Claims

New Orleans, LA Defective Products Claims Attorney

Defective products cause thousands of injuries and deaths each year. While product liability claims provide protections and recourse for people and their families that are injured or killed by defective products, those defects can take various forms.  There are many differences between what can cause a product to malfunction or cause injury. There are three major types of claims involving dangerous products and the reason for failure.  They are:

Manufacturing Defects – This occurs when the product is actually being built or put together.  It is classified as a manufacturing defect when the product causing the injury does not adhere to the product’s design specifications.  Manufacturing defects occur in instances where a manufacturer uses inferior materials, inadequate or faulty machinery, where there is poor quality control or inspections, or where the employees are not adequately trained or supervised.  

Design Defect – This occurs when the design of the product is inherently dangerous at the time of creation.  To succeed on a design defect claim, it must be shown that a change in the design could have prevented the injury.  In other words, that there was a safer alternative design that could have been used at the time of design.  In a design defect case, because the product’s design is itself dangerous, the injury would have occurred no matter how it was manufactured.

Failure to Warn – When a manufacturer knows that there are risks associated with the use of their products, they have a duty to warn users of those products.  This is particularly true where the risks are not obvious to the user.  Where a manufacturer knows of a risk posed by their products, and they fail to provide adequate warnings to the users, this allows an injured person to bring a claim for failure to warn.  

Breach of Warranty — Breach of warranty occurs when a product fails to perform as represented by the manufacturer (or seller) and causes injury.  A breach of warranty claim exists as a result of a direct transaction between the buyer and seller. There are several types of breach of warranty based product liability claims.

Liability Can Go Beyond Manufacturers

Products liability claims can be asserted against any party involved in the manufacturing, distribution, and sales of a product.  The manufacturer of the product itself can have liability for a defective product, but the supplier or seller of the product may also share in or even bear sole liability for the defect.  Also, a product liability claim can be filed even if a person who did not directly purchase the product is injured by its use.  

Intended Use Of A Product

The intended use of a product is an important consideration in filing a products liability claim.  Basically, whether the person was injured while using the product for its intended purpose, or in a foreseeable manner.  Those who improperly use a product and are injured as a result will not be entitled to a claim, because the injury would have been their fault.  Also, injuries resulting from continued use of a product after a recall may limit an injured person’s ability to assert a products liability claim.  

If you or a loved one has been injured by a defective or dangerous product, learn about your legal rights from an experienced Louisiana lawyer by calling 504-581-4892 or by filling out our free, no obligation case review form.