Sarasota Product Liability Attorney
When a defective product causes an injury, it is never a simple matter of finding the responsible party. The manufacturer, retailer, designer, or a third party could be at fault. Or, the injured claimant may not actually be injured, the injury could be from a preexisting condition, or the injury could be exaggerated. It is never wise to jump to conclusions early on during a defective products claim, as there are too many parties and too many scenarios at work for this sort of liability case to be solved quickly. Our product liability defense attorneys of HD Law Partners in Sarasota have years of experience dealing with products liability claims and coming to favorable solutions for our clients, whether they are the manufacturer or the designer of the product in question. Contact our experienced and respected Sarasota product liability attorneys today for immediate assistance.
The Plaintiff Must Prove the Proximate Cause of Injury was due to Defective Product
Strict liability holds a party liable for injuries even if that party was not negligent or at fault. And, strict liability is very often applied to defective products. According to the Florida Bar Journal, strict liability of defective products “grew out of dissatisfaction with warranty and negligence theories of recovery for product injuries.” In 2014 there were 11 toy-related deaths of children under the age of 15, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. For example, the claimant of one of these fatalities must prove that the product caused the death, but they do not have to prove how the manufacturer, or designer, was careless or negligent. However, proving that a product caused harm is not as simple as it may seem, as there are other factors that we must investigate to ensure that the injured claimant was not responsible themselves. Additionally, the injured claimant must prove that the product was defective, or did not include proper safety instructions, when it left the care of the manufacture and at the time of use. We look at all of the following details in products liability cases:
- Was the plaintiff using the product properly?
- Was the plaintiff following the user manual or using the product for its intended use?
- Did a retailer know of the defect and sell the item to the plaintiff regardless?
- Did the plaintiff’s negligence, such as being intoxicated or reckless, cause the injury?
- Did the plaintiff assume the risk of injury (did they know of the defect and use the product regardless)? For example, was the product recalled by the CPSC, the plaintiff knew of the recall, and yet they used the product anyways?
- Was the plaintiff the intended user of the product; was a child using a product that was intended for adult use only?
- Did the product undergo a substantial change from the time it left the manufacturer to the time the plaintiff used and was injured by it?
- Is the claim preempted by federal law?
Contact Our Experienced Sarasota Product Liability Attorneys
For experienced and successful defense of product liability claims, contact the HD Law Partners at 813-253-5333 today for immediate assistance. Our Sarasota Product Liability Attorneys are prepared to assist you today.
