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Defective Products
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has jurisdiction over more than 15,000 kinds of consumer products used in and around the home, in sports, recreation and schools including:
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appliances
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clothing
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electronic / electrical |
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furniture
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household
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children's products |
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lighting / lighter
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outdoor
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sports / exercise | Defective products are those which cause injury or damage to a person because of some defect in the product, its labeling, or its use. Manufacturers and others involved in the production and marketing of the defective products may be liable for injuries caused by these products.
Defective products can cause very mild injuries or very serious – even lethal – injuries. The list of possible defective products is unimaginably extensive and in many cases legal action could have resulted in compensation which would have assisted in the paying of medical costs.
Liability for defective products may rest in any number of different people, depending on the case. Generally, however, there are three categories of “Products Liability” cases: Manufacturing Defects, Design Defects and Failure to Warn Cases. One thing is certain, if you purchase a product and use it properly, you should not have to suffer an injury as a result.
Manufacturing Defect cases involve products that come out off the assembly line with some defect that makes them different and more dangerous than all the other similar products that came out of the same assembly line. This is the “one in a million” defect where the product that injured the victim is different from all the rest. A Design Defect Case involves a product which is in itself defective. The defect is not limited to one defective product (as is a Manufacturing Defect Case), but every item that comes out of plant has the same defect that makes it dangerous. This type of case is sometimes refered to as the “less dangerous alternative design case” because a victim is sometimes required to show that there was a similar safer design which would have been made economically. The third type of case is the “Failure to Warn” cases. Here the warning on the product is either non-existent, defective or inadequate. It is interesting to note here that depending on the state, the plaintiff’s conduct in using the product may taken into consideration.
Traditionally, in product liability cases, the theory of recovery has been predicated on several different approaches including negligence, breach of warranty and strict liability.
The Restatement 402(A) 2d of Torts all may come into play in product liability cases. Oversimplified 402(A) states anyone who sells any product in a defective condition unreasonably dangerous to the user or consumer is subject to liability for physical harm thereby cause to the ultimate user or consumer, or to his property, if: (a) the seller is engaged in the business of selling such a product and (b) it is expected and does reach the user or consumer without substantial change in the condition in which it is sold. The provision of 402(A) applies even if (a) the seller has exercised all possible care in the preparation and sale of the product and (b) the user or consumer has not bought the product from or entered into any contractual obligation with the seller.
If you or someone you know has been injured due to a "defective product", you may be entitled to monetary compensation. Please click on the link provided below for a free evaluation of your claim by an experienced attorney.
>>CLICK HERE FOR A FREE DEFECTIVE PRODUCTS CASE EVALUATION
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