411 on Product Liability – Aronberg & Aronberg

Often times, when people hear of a “personal injury” lawyer, or a “personal injury” lawsuit, the first thing that comes to mind is a car crash or a slip and fall.  That’s not necessarily a false belief — car accidents and slip and falls do constitute a great deal of personal injury cases.  But why is that?  Sure, there are a lot of cars on the road, and sure there are many people going in and out of different homes and stores where the opportunity for slipping, and falling, is not scarce to say the least.  But another reason that people may be inclined to think of auto accidents and slip and falls is that people often think of them as being the easiest to prove.

In any personal injury case, one must have to prove that the purportedly guilty party acted in a negligent manner, thereby committing a tort, a “wrongdoing.”  If someone hits someone else with their car, and there are police around to document it, it’s highly improbable that the guilty party would argue that it wasn’t their fault that the accident occurred.  Similarly, if someone is visiting a chocolate factory and slips and falls on chocolate syrup, it would be hard for the chocolate company to argue that it wasn’t their fault that there was chocolate syrup on the floor of their chocolate factory.  Furthermore, it is also assumed that for someone to be negligent in a personal injury suit, they must be directly involved in the plaintiff’s injury.  That notion is false, and it is something that is dealt with on a regular basis in the world of product liability.

In an ever-growing economy, consumers put their faith in companies to produce products that work as advertised and don’t cause injury.  When someone is injured while using a product, and the injury is the result of improper manufacturing, sub-par design, or a lack of instructions or warnings, the product itself can’t be held liable, so the manufacturer, supplier or retailer might be responsible for covering the damages.  Any company that is directly involved in either the manufacturing or sale of a product is held to a very high standard: in legalese, this is referred to as “strict liability.”  What this means is that even if the company that made or sold the product didn’t intend for it to hard a consumer, they can still be responsible if a consumer is harmed by their product.

There are a wide variety of incidents that could fall under the umbrella of “product liability.”  Something such as having a chair collapse under you due to a lack of sturdy material would qualify as a product liability issue, as would a car accident resulting in defective tires.  People who fall victim to defective products can — and should — expect to be compensated for their medical bills, medication costs, lost wages, pain and suffering, property damage, etc., that can be linked to their injury as a result of the defective product.

What becomes tricky in these cases is pin-pointing exactly who is responsible for the injury you incurred.  Trying to fight the manufacturers yourself will result in them blaming you for not “using the product properly,” or some other scapegoat excuse like that.  It’s crucial that, if you’ve been injured due to a defective product, you contact an experienced attorney like one at the Law Offices of Aronberg & Aronberg.  We can help you determine which party — and sometimes how many parties — are liable and therefore responsible for compensating you for your losses.

For more information about product liability law or any other legal matter, please give us a call at 561-266-9191 or email us at daronberg@build.simple.biz.

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