Legal Options for Product Defect Victims

When you purchase an item as a consumer, pick up a prescription as a patient, or interact with an industrial machine as a worker, you expect that each of these physical objects will work in the ways that their manufacturers intended them to work. While some consumer goods, medical drugs and devices, and industrial products are inherently dangerous, it is reasonable to trust that if you use them as directed, you’ll be spared from harm. Unfortunately, Americans are hurt as a result of mislabeling, manufacturing anomalies, and other product defects all the time. 

When a consumer suffers physical harm as a result of a product defect, this situation may serve as grounds for a legitimate lawsuit against the manufacturer of the device. For example, failure to label a product effectively may result in a “failure to warn” scenario that can result in a chain of lawsuits that are financially devastating to a manufacturer because it must compensate victims for expenses related to the manufacturer’s negligence. 

As an experienced personal injury accident lawyer in Las Vegas, NV, including those who practice at Eric Roy Law Firm, can confirm, that there are many ways in which manufacturers of defective products may potentially be held liable for any defects in their products that cause harm. 

It’s the duty of manufacturers to be knowledgeable of their products. As it is of their creation, they should know the ins and outs of it completely. That said, simply being unaware or ignorant of a threat that is new to them is inexcusable and a company can be held liable for a risk that they should have known about. If the manufacturer cannot prove that they provided the same warnings and safety features that meet industry standards, they may be liable for expenses related to consumer victims’ injuries.

Manufacturers are also bound by a duty of care to those who use their products. They must do what is required of them by law in order to keep users safe from harm. With that said, many companies like to put their warnings into the fine print in order not to deter potential customers from buying their products. It’s important to make sure that any warning presented to customers is conspicuous enough that it can be seen within a few seconds of looking at the product. Even more so, the warning must be legible and clear and in a language that is understandable to consumers of the project is intended.