When you purchase anything from a business, you expect it to be safe for its intended use and with the appropriate warning labels to keep you and your loved ones safe. However, that doesn’t always happen, and thousands of lawsuits are filed with compensation lawyers every year on behalf of their clients. If a faulty product has impacted your family, you may be wondering what the filing process looks like. Here are some of the steps you may need to take for a successful outcome:
Step 1: Consult a Compensation Lawyer
Personal injury lawyers like those from State Law Group are the experts to call upon for clarity on compensation law and working through a product liability claim. They can listen to your story about a product you’ve had problems with and provide insight into what your next steps should be.
If they believe you have a sound case, they can start the process of gathering evidence, talking to experts, and putting together a demand letter to ensure those responsible for your faulty product are held to account.
Step 2: Prove a Product Fault Caused Your Injury
One of the most crucial parts of any product liability claim is proof that a product caused you or your loved one’s injuries. This may involve proving that instructions for use were insufficient, leading to your injury, or that the product had a defect. Your chosen law firm can help with this process.
Once you’ve identified the flaw in the product, you must be able to link it to your injury to strengthen your chances of being compensated for your injury and related costs.
Step 3: Identify the Liability Type
To file a product liability claim, you need to know how the manufacturer failed in its duties to provide a safe product. With the help of your compensation lawyer, you can file for negligence, strict liability, or a breach of warranty.
Negligence means that someone within that product’s supply chain didn’t act with reasonable care to create a safe product. The higher the risk of injury connected with the product, the greater the manufacturer’s duty of care.
You may also file a claim for a breach of warranty, which describes the terms of a warranty or promise not being kept by the manufacturer. Strict liability is also something your lawyer may recommend based on your unique situation, which means a manufacturer is liable for any damages and injuries relating to a defective product that was unreasonably hazardous.
Step 4: Discuss Your Defect Type
When hiring an injury lawyer to represent your product liability claim, they will likely run you through your options based on the defect type. These include a manufacturing defect, design defect, or a lack of warning or improper warning.
A manufacturing defect happens during the manufacturing process, while a design defect relates to errors in the design stage. An improper warning describes there not being enough warning information included with the product to keep you safe.
Step 5: File a Claim
Once you’ve determined what your defect type is and the type of claim you’d like to make, your personal injury lawyer can take the lead and fight for your right to adequate compensation for your injuries and damages.
Filing a product liability claim is a significant step to take, but it can be worthwhile. These steps above may be all it takes to see the business or manufacturer held to account for what they did.
