I Was Injured by a Dangerous Product: Who Is Liable?
Posted By Darrigo & Diaz
Many variables can make litigating product liability cases difficult. The most important aspect of a product liability case, and any other personal injury case, for that matter, is determining liability. If you are the plaintiff in a product liability case, the burden falls on you and your legal team to offer support and conclusive evidence for your claim.
A successful product liability claim must include the following:
- The plaintiff must show how the product caused direct harm to him or her.
- The claim must show that there was a direct correlation between the injury, and either the product’s design, how it was manufactured, how it was marketed to consumers (e.g., misleading statements or advertising).
- The plaintiff must prove that the defendant was negligent, and breached their duty of preventing injury, harm, or other wrongdoing to the plaintiff.
- If negligence did not play a role, then the plaintiff must show that the product’s manufacturer did not take action or respond reasonably by the expected standards of their industry.
Therefore, if you sustained injuries from a product, you may be entitled to receive compensation from that product’s manufacturer or the business overseeing the production. This is because the product that they designed or sold to you, did not have a reasonable explanation for its potential danger. This is known as “strict liability.”
Expanding on the Concept of Strict Liability
Strict liability essentially means that the product’s manufacturer was careless in the way they handled or manufactured their product, and therefore, was considered “unreasonably dangerous.” How can you tell if a product was considered unreasonably dangerous? It should be clear that the harm or danger existed in the product, the product was used in the way that it was intended and was never modified, and you or another individual, was injured as a result.
Who Should Be Held Accountable?
The most obvious defendants in a product liability claim would the manufacturers; they were in charge of creating the product. However, many others could have hand in the product’s development, including the retailers, those who distributed the product, and others who may have handled the product. That is why it is so important for you to have skilled and knowledgeable Tampa product liability attorneys, who know every aspect of the law, and can help you fight to receive just compensation.
If you would like to discuss your product liability claim with Darrigo & Diaz, Attorneys at Law,please contact our Tampa office today by calling (813) 774-3341.
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