As a consumer, you have the right to expect that the products you use to enhance your quality of life will not harm you. Home appliances should not cause third-degree burns, children’s toys should not contain toxins, and the medicine you take to improve your physical health should not poison you. If you have been injured by a defective product, a Williamsport product liability lawyer from Stapp Law, LLC is available to discuss your case. We will meet with you here in Williamsport, PA, listen to what you have experienced, and advise you on the legal options available to you as an injured consumer.
What Is Product Liability Law?
A product undergoes a long journey before it reaches your home or place of work. There are many opportunities for carelessness, negligence, or willful wrongdoing throughout the process. Companies that care more about profits and business goals than the well-being of consumers threaten the lives of thousands of people in Pennsylvania and the U.S. each year. Serious personal injury and even wrongful death can be the tragic outcome of corporate negligence.
Product liability law exists to provide a means of financial recovery for those who have been injured through poor manufacturing, design, or advertising practices. No victim of this kind of error should be left to suffer the consequences without a means of recovery. At Stapp Law, LLC we take seriously our responsibility to protect injured victims of defective products in Williamsport and the surrounding areas of central Pennsylvania.
What Are the Types of Product Defects?
Product liability refers to any instance in which a manufacturer or retailer made or sold a defective product that injured the person who used it. There are three general categories of product defects.
Defects in Manufacturing
This type of defect is the most commonly-cited problem in product liability claims. A manufacturing defect results when an error is made during the manufacturing process, affecting either a single product or a batch of thousands. A flaw can result when manufacturers cut corners to save time and money, such as when a company opts for cheaper materials or speeds up production processes to unsafe levels.
Mistakes can occur on an assembly line when there is inadequate monitoring or control, or when faulty parts are used in manufacturing equipment. In short, manufacturing defects come from any methods or materials used during the production process that could lead to danger to the product’s consumer.
Defects in Design
A design defect is when a product is designed with an inherent flaw that could lead to malfunction and harm to the user. This may be the result of a failure to properly test the product before selling it to the public, or the result of an oversight during the design process. In many cases, a poorly designed product will not be able to safely perform the function for which it was designed.
Examples of defects in design could include a hot beverage mug that melts at high temperatures, an infant toy that poses a choking hazard, brakes that malfunction on slippery surfaces, or chairs that collapse under weight.
Failure to Warn
This refers to a lack of sufficient instructions or warnings to the consumer. Buyers of a product need to know how to safely use it. Even if the product is without defect, it can still be a hazard to users. When there are no instructions for proper use—or no labels warning of potential dangers—product users are at risk of injury.
“Failure to warn” can include missing labels, false claims, illegible instructions, a lack of necessary information, or misleading wording. Additionally, there may be grounds for a marketing defect lawsuit if deceptive advertising shows a product being used in a manner that could cause injury to the user.
What Are the Most Common Defective Products?
Any product that causes harm to the user can be considered a defective product. There are some types of widely-used products that have more commonly been found to be defective than others. These include:
- Pharmaceutical products and supplies
- Household appliances
- Recreational products
- Automotive parts
- Children’s toys
- Cosmetics
- Batteries
- Packaged food and beverages
- Furniture
- Industrial equipment
- Agricultural and lawncare equipment
How Can a Product Liability Lawyer Help After an Injury?
Product liability law can be extremely complex. Although it may seem evident that a defective product caused your injury, your attorney will need to work diligently to prove that you were harmed by a product defect and entitled to compensation. It can be difficult to bring a claim against a well-funded company with a powerful legal team and strong motivation to protect itself from being held liable for wrongful actions. It’s our job at Stapp Law, LLC to make sure you have the legal representation you need to recover what you deserve.
There is a great deal of legal knowledge a product liability attorney must possess in order to competently represent injured clients in the state of Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania law recognizes multiple theories under which a manufacturer or seller can be held liable in a product liability case, including theories of negligence, strict liability, breach of warranty, and the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law.
Your personal injury lawyer from Stapp Law, LLC will be able to advise you on the best way to proceed with your case. We have experience representing our clients in complicated product liability cases, and we have the expertise to fully calculate your damages and help you obtain the help needed for physical, emotional, and financial recovery.
We encourage you to reach out to our law firm to begin a conversation about what we can do to help you after a defective product injury.
