Product Liability Attorney in Philadelphia
Your Right to Safe Products
It is the responsibility of manufacturers to make safe products.
When consumers purchase goods or products for use in our offices or homes, whether it be a lawnmower, drill, lamp, crib, cigarette lighter, household cleaners, or even a child’s toy, we have every right to expect that they do not come with hidden hazards or defects which can injure, maim, or kill innocent victims. Every day newspapers are full of stories of people who were hurt or killed by a product that was thought to be safe. There is no limit on the types of potentially unsafe products that can cause consumers to be injured or killed. If you or a loved one has been injured by a dangerous or defective product, you may be able to pursue what is known as a product liability lawsuit against the manufacturer, wholesaler, retailer, distributor, seller or supplier in the commercial chain of distribution to recover compensation for your medical expenses, wage loss, pain and suffering, emotional distress and other harms.
Product liability claims are complicated and difficult claims to pursue from a legal standpoint. To make matters worse, product makers and companies typically vigorously and aggressively defend product liability lawsuits, since an enormously profitable and popular consumer product or the company’s reputation may be at stake.
Generally speaking, in order to prove a product liability claims, in addition to showing that you or a loved one sustained an injury, it is also necessary to prove that the product in question is defective, that the defect caused the injury, and that you were using the product as it was intended to be used.
Your Attorney
Mr. Privitera is the founder of The Privitera Law Firm LLC and concentrates his practice on the representation of catastrophically injured victims.
Mr. Privitera has been repeatedly recognized throughout the legal community for his skill and expertise, work ethic, preparation and dedication to his clients in personal injury and wrongful death matters. Mr. Privitera has earned the respect of the legal community, has extensive experience, a sterling reputation for handling significant personal injury and wrongful death cases and proven track record of success and outstanding results.
What Is a Defective Product?
Generally speaking, it is important to understand, and to thoroughly investigate, the possibility that there may be multiple parties responsible for causing the injury or death of a worker at a construction site based on the sheer number of entities typically involved in a large scale construction project. Some of the parties to consider may include:
Design Defects
In product liability cases based on a design defect, the product is manufactured correctly, but the claim is that there is an inherent flaw or problem in the product’s design itself which renders the product unreasonably dangerous for its intended use. In design defect cases, the claim is that the product’s design itself has created a safety hazard to the ordinary consumer. These are very difficult cases to make out against companies since the defect is not isolated or limited to an individual product that may have malfunctioned and caused an injury, but instead typically exists in all of the company’s manufactured products. A design defect claim focuses on the flawed design features of the product and extends to every single product made and distributed in the company’s entire production line. Some examples of a design defect in a product may include a car that has poor handling and stability characteristics resulting in inordinate roll-over accidents, a circular saw that lacks a safety guard, an industrial slitter machine that lacks a safety “kill-switch”, electric blankets that overheat and burst into flames when left on, a bullet-proof vest made out of soft rubber or plastic or protective headgear or helmets made without liners, shells or straps or padding or other safety features necessary to avoid or reduce head trauma and concussion injuries.
Manufacturing Defects
A manufacturing defect may occur when a product is made or constructed differently than the intended design for the product which makes it dangerous, unsafe, and unfit for its intended use. Manufacturing defects are different from design defects. On the one hand, a manufacturing defect is an unplanned mistake that occurs in making the product which would be safe if it were made as originally designed. On the other hand, a design defect in a product is said to make the product inherently unsafe because it is designed as originally planned. A manufacturing defect generally affects a product or just a portion of the production line that was manufactured in a faulty manner usually because of the use of poor-quality materials or carelessness during the assembly or manufacturing process.
Manufacturing Defects
A manufacturing defect may occur when a product is made or constructed differently than the intended design for the product which makes it dangerous, unsafe, and unfit for its intended use. Manufacturing defects are different from design defects. On the one hand, a manufacturing defect is an unplanned mistake that occurs in making the product which would be safe if it were made as originally designed. On the other hand, a design defect in a product is said to make the product inherently unsafe because it is designed as originally planned. A manufacturing defect generally affects a product or just a portion of the production line that was manufactured in a faulty manner usually because of the use of poor-quality materials or carelessness during the assembly or manufacturing process.
Marketing, Or Failure to Warn, Defects
Even if there is no design flaw, and the product was properly and carefully assembled during the manufacturing process, a product may still be defective if it lacked warnings, or had inadequate warnings. Warnings are usually required when the manufacturer knows that a product may pose a danger to the consumer even if the product is used as intended, particularly if the associated danger is not one that would be obvious to the consumer. As a general rule of thumb, an effective warning or caution label, not only warns consumers of hidden dangers associated with the product but also instructs consumers on how to properly and safely use the product. An effective warning or caution label also should be clear, comprehensible and conspicuously located on the product.
The Defect Must Cause the Injury
In order for the injured party to successfully bring a product liability claim, it is important to establish that the injury was caused by the specific defect in the product. This may be more complicated than you may think in some cases. Product makers often defend products by attempting to break the causal chain. In other words, product makers may argue that the product defect was not the cause of the injury, or was such an indirect or remote cause of the injury, as to be legally invalid.
The Product Must Have Been Used as It Was Intended
Product makers also often employ the strategy of blaming the consumer for causing their own injuries. In essence, the company defends its product by saying that the consumer’s injury or death was not caused by a defective product, but instead by the consumer’s misuse of the product.
Generally speaking, a product should be used in a manner that was intended by the manufacturer. If an injured party used a product in an unintended manner or in a manner that was not foreseeable by the manufacturer, then the manufacturer may have grounds to defend the case based on the consumer’s misuse of the product. So, for example, if a person is seriously injured while using a lawnmower to trim hedges, or cuts off a finger while juggling butcher knives, you’re probably going to have a tough time pursuing a valid product liability case.
That said, consumers shouldn’t be confused into thinking that a product must be used in absolute and exact conformity with the manufacturer’s specifications. A manufacturer of a product is under a duty of care to reasonably anticipate that consumers sometimes do use products in ways that may not be intended, but should be expected. If a manufacturer could reasonably expect or predict that a consumer would use a product in a foreseeable manner, even if unintended, then the manufacturer may still be liable for the consumer’s injuries. Simply put, the legal notion of intended use includes any reasonably foreseeable misuse of a product.