Product
Liability Attorneys
Product liability attorneys prosecute cases
where defect products are involved. Typically, a product liability
attorney will not charge a fee to take on a case and will work
on a contingency basis.
According to the Consumer Product Safety
Commission (CPSC) more than 22,000 deaths and 29.5 million injuries
occur each year due to defective products.
The types of cases that product liability attorneys
work on varies from asbestos cancer cases to pharmaceutical cases
to cases of defective auto parts or toys. Not only the manufacturer
can be held responsible by the product liability attorney and
court of law but others in the chain such as the wholesaler, distributor
and retail store can also be held accountable as well.
Tangible items are not the only items can be involved in product
liability cases. Other items such as pets, real estate and
writings (such as charts and directions) can be prosecuted by
attorneys in products liability cases. Product liability attorneys
can base their cases on negligence, strict liability, breach of
contract or warranty of fitness depending upon the jurisdiction
involved.
Product liability attorneys realize that the burden of proof
is upon them to prove that the product in question is defective.
Defects can be manufacturing defects, design defects or defects
in marketing.
Design defects are those that are inherent to the product and
present before the manufacturing stage and will affect all or
most products. Manufacturing defects occur when the product was
being manufactured and may only affect a small number of items
manufactured. Defects in marketing predominately involve warning
labels or warnings in instruction manuals where inadequate or
absent warnings failed to inform the consumers of the particular
dangers of a product.
While the burden of proof is upon the product liability attorney,
most product liability cases are considered to be strict liability
offenses. This is good news for the product liability attorney
since with strict liability cases it does not matter how much
care the manufacturer or supplier used. If a product is defective,
they are liable.
In most jurisdictions a person has three years to bring about
an action from the time they are aware of the loss, the defect
and the identity of the manufacturer. In addition, any action
against the defendants must take place within 10 years of the
time the defective products were supplied by the manufacturer.
For those who have been injured or had a family member injured
due to a defective product, time is of the essence to contact
a product liability attorney, so that an action can be initiated
as soon as possible. Many people tend to minimize the pain and
suffering associated with being injured by a defective product
and some let the statute of limitations slip on by them before
contacting a product liability attorney.
If you or someone you know has been injured by a faulty product,
the time to contact an attorney is now. Don't let time run away
with your settlement.
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