Defective Product Lawyer Says: Buyer Be Aware

Written by Anna Henningsgaard


Inrepparttar past,repparttar 149542 rule ofrepparttar 149543 day was “buyer beware”. It was up to consumers to inform and protect themselves from irresponsible companies and dangerous products. Current law, however, is justrepparttar 149544 opposite. Now companies are legally required to provide reasonably safe products. If companies produce dangerous or defective products, consumers can sue them forrepparttar 149545 injuries suffered as a result. Strict product liability makes everyone inrepparttar 149546 production process, from component manufacturers to distributors, responsible forrepparttar 149547 safety ofrepparttar 149548 product. This makes safe products a priority for both consumers and producers, which should berepparttar 149549 ideal situation.

However,repparttar 149550 mere existence of this law has not completely protected consumers from dangerous products. Often companies are not careful and let defective products slip throughrepparttar 149551 production line, or they compromiserepparttar 149552 safety of their product to reduce costs. Defective products reachrepparttar 149553 shelves every day, where they can hurt consumers. When these products injure you, it is important to find a lawyer and pursuerepparttar 149554 company, both to claimrepparttar 149555 repayment you deserve and to protect other consumers fromrepparttar 149556 defective product.

A product does not even have to be defective for its manufacturer to be liable under product liability law. If a product is merely unsafe to consumers, every company affiliated withrepparttar 149557 production, distribution, and retail of that product can be held responsible. There are four different ways to legally establish product liability for defective or dangerous products: negligence, breach of warranty, misrepresentation, and strict liability.

A company is considered negligent when it is responsible for providing a standard of safety and does not do so. This includes inaction as well as careless and intentionally dangerous practices. Breach of warranty occurs when a product fails to carry outrepparttar 149558 claims of a seller. Companies are obligated to fulfill any promises made to customers. Misrepresentation refers torepparttar 149559 expectations consumers hold from a products advertising and promotion. If consumers are lead to believe, through advertising, that a product is safer than it really is,repparttar 149560 product has been misrepresented. Finally, strict liability assignsrepparttar 149561 responsibility for safety to every step ofrepparttar 149562 production and distribution process. If a product is defective andrepparttar 149563 defect injures a consumer,repparttar 149564 company is strictly liable and responsible forrepparttar 149565 injury regardless of fault or intent.

Defective Products

Written by Anna Henningsgaard


Have you ever noticed how many warning labels are on things? As a child I always especially noticedrepparttar tag onrepparttar 149541 hair dryer because it addressed me directly: “Warn children ofrepparttar 149542 risk of death by electrocution”. These warning labels are placed on products to protectrepparttar 149543 company from lawsuits from people who injure themselves with products, becauserepparttar 149544 label warns consumers about potential risks or dangerous applications ofrepparttar 149545 product. Many ofrepparttar 149546 labels seem ridiculous with warnings such as “do not ingest” or “do not place near open flame”, but ifrepparttar 149547 warnings were missing and you hurt yourself, you could suerepparttar 149548 company for marketing a defective product!

The 1994 Safety Regulations on general product safety apply to both new and second-hand consumer products. Amongrepparttar 149549 hundreds of products included are clothing, medicines, agricultural and horticultural products, DIY tools, food and drink, household goods, nursery goods, chemicals and pesticides, and motor vehicles. These rules require all suppliers of these goods to supply products that are safe when used in both normal and unusual-but-predictable applications. Taking into account all circumstances, if a product does not provide a reasonable level of safety it is considered a defective product.

A product that merely doesn’t work, but also does not hurt anybody, does not qualify as defective. You can return such a product torepparttar 149550 manufacturer or pursue action under law of contract, but without being dangerous this broken product does not qualify for a defective product lawsuit. Other circumstances, likerepparttar 149551 warning labels, are also relevant to determining whether a product is defective or not. If there is a label warning you of electrocution, you can reasonably expect to be electrocuted if you misuserepparttar 149552 product.

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