Garden City Product Liability Lawyers
We expect the products we buy to be safe for use, but tragically, many people are hurt while using everyday products as they were intended. Or, they might be hurt by someone else using a product as it was intended. In 2021, nearly 12 million Americans visited emergency rooms for injuries caused by consumer products, according to Forbes.
Legally speaking, products are considered defective if they cause injury or put consumers at unreasonable risk due to problematic design, a manufacturing defect, inaccurate labeling, and other issues. The law does provide recourse for people who are hurt by defective products.
Anyone who is injured by a product can take legal action against manufacturers, sellers, marketers, distributors, and any other parties that may have contributed to the product’s being dangerous through a product liability lawsuit.
What Is Product Liability?
The term “product liability” refers to an area of civil law that governs defective product cases. This area of law provides recourse for people hurt by defective products, allowing them to seek compensation for injuries and damages they have suffered. It also compels those who design, manufacture, distribute, and market consumer products to prevent dangerous products from entering the market.
Product liability claims are mostly filed for consumer goods, which may include children’s toys, lawn care equipment, and kitchen equipment. Claims can also be filed for injuries caused by medications, medical devices, motor vehicles, aircraft, and other products that are not necessarily traditional consumer goods.
Product liability claims are usually brought under state laws, as there are very few federal laws that specifically pertain to product liability. Cases are typically filed based on the theories of strict liability, negligence, or breach of warranty.
If you are injured by a defective product, an attorney can file a lawsuit in state court if the statute of limitations has not passed. In Kansas, our Garden City product liability lawyers have two years from the date of an accident to file a product liability claim. There are some exceptions to this statute. For example, if unknown injuries are diagnosed days, weeks, months, or years after the accident, the statute of limitations starts from the date those injuries are discovered.
Common Types of Product Liability Cases in Garden City
There are different types of product liability cases, and these cases tend to fall into a few different categories.
Design Defects
Some products are flawed from their very inception. Often, the danger of these products seems very obvious, but somehow, they make it to market. For example, the lawn darts game is dangerous by design. Sometimes, design defects are not quite so obvious. For example, some vehicles are more likely to roll over on a sharp turn due to a high center of gravity.
Production Defects
Safely designed products can become dangerous if there are problems during the production process. For example, if auto workers on a manufacturing line somehow miss installing airbags for an entire production run, the defective automobiles would put people at much greater risk during a car accident. In this situation, a car manufacturer could be held accountable. If auto workers installed airbags that were defective, any third-party company that supplied the airbags would be at risk for a product liability lawsuit.
Breach of Warranty
A manufacturer can be sued if one of its products doesn’t deliver on the product’s warranty. While express and limited warranties come directly from a manufacturer and offer certain guarantees, implied warranties are not explicitly written down but are implied by circumstance or law. For example, the warranty of merchantability is an implied warranty based on the fact that a product can be assumed to be fit for purpose.
Any state-mandated warranties are also considered implied warranties, as a manufacturer may not be required to put them in writing. Sometimes, sellers attempt to disclaim warranties by claiming a product is being sold “as is,” but Kansas does not allow items to be sold this way.
Failure to Warn
From tobacco to prescription drugs to children’s toys, many products on the market have an element of risk associated with their use. Manufacturers that sell these products have a responsibility to disclose any potential side effects or risks associated with using their products.
If a manufacturer does not provide adequate notification of risks associated with a product and someone is injured by that product, the manufacturer could be subject to a product liability lawsuit for ‘failure to warn,’ which is considered a type of marketing defect. For example, drug manufacturers must warn potential users about any side effects that could impact their health.
Strict Liability for Defective Product Injuries in Garden City
Most personal injury cases require a plaintiff to prove that a defendant was negligent in their duty of care to receive compensation. For example, a car accident victim might have to prove that a defendant was driving drunk or disobeying traffic signals when they caused the accident that injured the plaintiff.
Due to a legal doctrine known as “strict liability,” — plaintiffs in a product liability case do not have to prove that a manufacturer or other company acted negligently or maliciously. Based on strict liability, a plaintiff can recover compensation if they can show an issue with the product directly caused them to suffer damages. This is a lower bar than proving negligence, and it makes it easier for victims of defective products to get the compensation they need.
Product liability cases are also unique in that a person does not have to purchase a product in order to pursue a claim. Anyone who could have likely been damaged by a defective product can legally pursue a claim against a manufacturer or other potentially responsible party. If a product is sold and used as intended without being modified in any way to cause harm, almost anyone can take legal action against a party in the chain of distribution, from the designer to the retailer.
Under strict liability rules, a seller can only be held liable if the product was sold through normal consumer operations. This protects noncommercial sellers — such as people reselling goods on Facebook Marketplace — from getting caught up in a product liability claim.
How To Prove Product Liability in Garden City
People injured by a product in western Kansas should pursue a claim with the help of our Garden City product liability lawyers. To prove product liability, a legal representative must establish three conditions:
- Use of the product is associated with an unreasonable level of danger
- The product caused damage in the course of its designated use
- The product was not altered in any way from the condition in which it was sold
It’s important to note that a consumer cannot have known about a product’s defect before using it. If the defect was known to the user, they can limit the amount of compensation that’s recovered and possibly nullify a claim. This helps to prevent unscrupulous people from trying to “cash in” on a known product defect.
What To Do if a Defective Product Has Injured You in Garden City
If you have been injured by a product and believe that it’s due to a defect, the first thing you should do is stop using the product and make sure that you are safe from it. After your own safety has been addressed, you can think about pursuing a product liability claim.
If possible, preserve the product and keep it in a safe place. Our Garden City product liability lawyers can retain experts to analyze the product and pinpoint the nature of the defect. If it isn’t possible to preserve the product, try to obtain an exemplar product that can be analyzed.
You should also try to write down the names of any people who witnessed the accident caused by the product. A list of potential witnesses can be very useful. You also may want to capture pictures and videos of the accident scene. Time is of the essence in a product liability case, and evidence can be cleaned up before legal investigators get on the scene.
For the same reason, you also may want to get statements from witnesses as soon as possible after the accident. Key witnesses can forget details of an accident, and they may be influenced by potential defendants looking to minimize liability.
At the end of the day, you should retain one of our product liability lawyers to pursue your claim. Delaying this step can be detrimental to your claim. Product liability lawsuits tend to be complex, and in Kansas, you only have two years from the date of the accident to file a claim.
Once a claim has been filed, any defendants will take steps to avoid liability. One common tactic is to assert that a plaintiff has not adequately identified the party responsible for the injury. For example, a manufacturer might argue that a parts supplier is responsible for the defect. Our product liability lawyers will work to connect specific defects with the party or parties responsible for creating them.
Another common defense tactic is to assert that the plaintiff altered the product after it left the defendant’s control. If the product was modified, it would completely void the liability claim. A similar defense would be to argue that the plaintiff did not use the product as intended, and this misuse caused the damages that were suffered. Our product liability lawyers can help you prove that a product was not altered in any way and that it was being used as intended.
Companies looking to minimize any compensation they have to pay out may look to seek a settlement. Our product liability lawyers can help you weigh the merits of a proposed settlement and conduct negotiations. If we are unable to agree on a settlement, we will take your claim to court so your future is protected.
Let Our Garden City Product Liability Lawyers Handle Your Claim
At Bretz Injury Law, our attorneys have extensive experience with product liability law. Our legal experts can help you determine the right course of action and fight for the compensation you need.
Don’t let large companies intimidate you into coping with injuries and damages you suffered through no fault of your own. We understand the hurt and frustration people feel when they are hurt by a defective product. If you or a loved one has been injured, contact us online today or call 620-RESULTS. We’re here to help.
Contact us today to schedule a free, confidential case evaluation, or simply call our law office at 620-RESULTS
