Product Liability Claims: A Buyer's Right

By: Joan Guevarra
Submitted: 2009-10-20 17:52:55
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There are certain expectations when a buyer purchases a product.

A recent Yahoo news article featured a Florida teen having the surprise of his life when he found rocks wrapped in a Chinese newspaper instead of a Nintendo DS handheld console after opening his birthday present.

Last February, a salmonella outbreak brought about by contaminated peanut butter that sickened 600 people and may be linked to at least 8 fatalities, resulted in one of the most massive product recalls in history, with more than 1,800 items pulled.

Product liability claims may be instituted by any consumer or buyer of a certain product if he or she suffers from an injury or damage due to an unsafe or defective product. The manufacturer, distributor, supplier and retailer may be held accountable for monetary compensation of damages if their product has caused damage and is proven to be defective.

There are three kinds of product liability claims and these are categorized as:

1.    Defectively Manufactured Products – This is proven when a flaw or error in making the product gives rise to injury or damage to their product’s buyer or user. As previously mentioned, there was an isolated case of peanut butter products that were contaminated by salmonella, only a certain brand from a certain factory got the boot orders from the Food and Drug Administration. Thus, defectively manufactured product claims arise from the manufacturing process of a product.

2.    Defectively Designed Products- This product liability claim arises from product designs that are inherently dangerous or defective. This claim alleges that an entire line of products or its standards are unsuitable for the consumer’s safety regardless of the fact if the product was made perfectly according to the manufacturer’s specifications. An example of this is Toyota’s recall of 39,100 MY2008 Highlander and Highlander HV SUVs for a possible faulty exhaust clamp. The faulty clamps may overheat with prolonged use and crack, thus allowing the exhaust tips to completely fall off.

3.    Failure to Provide Adequate Warnings or Instructions- This is also known as a failure-to-warn claim. This product claim liability arises from the danger brought about by the lack of adequate warnings or instructions about a product’s proper use. Medicines which do not include in its label the right amount of dosage or a warning about its side-effects if taken in combination with another drug is an example of this product claim liability.

Consumers have the right to be protected against defective and dangerous products and legally, one is entitled to recompense and recovery of damages suffers injuries from the use of such products.

However, product liability claims can be complex as laws relating to products liability combine elements of tort (negligence, strict liability, etc.) as well as contract (warranties). Several states have also enacted consumer protection statutes providing for specific remedies for a variety of product defects.

For Los Angeles product liability claims in particularly, the Supreme Court of California upheld that strict liability for defective products even applies to makers of component products that are installed into and sold as part of real property back in 2002.

Like most lawsuits, Los Angeles product liability claims can be technical and expensive to prosecute. It is in situations such as these that reputable law firms with actual experience in product liability claims can be an asset as you pursue a case for monetary compensation and damages against the manufacturers, suppliers, retailers or people responsible for bringing a defective product to the market.

As Justice Traynor in the case of Escola v. Coca-Cola Bottling Co. said, “Public policy demands that responsibility be fixed wherever it will most effectively reduce the hazards to life and health inherent in defective products that reach the market.”

Thus, consumer protection and product liability claims are more than a buyer’s privilege—they are your rights.

Article source: Expert Articles