What You Need to Know About Products Liability Claims in Arizona
Products liability refers to the fact that companies and other manufacturers of consumer products have a legal duty to create, market, and distribute safe products for consumer use. They have a legal responsibility to use due care to ensure that the products are not defective in any way and will not harm anyone who uses them. Unfortunately, too many defective consumer products find their way into the hands of consumers each year, with disastrous results.
The Phoenix products liability attorneys at Gallagher & Kennedy, P.A., represent the interests of individuals and their families who have suffered injuries from using defective consumers products. We can help you obtain compensation for your losses stemming from these defective products, from auto defects to aircraft defects.
Types of Products Liability Claims
Arizona law provides for three major types of products liability claims. Each of these claims could result in injured consumers receiving compensation for their losses.
Design Defects
Design defects occur when a problem in the product’s initial design makes it inherently defective or dangerous to consumers. In other words, the product is designed so that it contains a defect that makes it dangerous for people to use as intended. Therefore, all the products are defective and potentially dangerous to consumers.
Manufacturing Defects
Manufacturing defects can occur when something goes wrong during the manufacturing process. In this case, only products manufactured within a certain timeframe or in a specific way would be defective. This incident can result in only one batch or “run” of the defective product; the other products manufactured correctly are not defective and not dangerous for consumer use.
Marketing Defects
A marketing defect has less to do with the product itself and more to do with the labeling or instructions that accompany the product. For example, the product may contain insufficient safety warnings, improper or inadequate instructions for use, or inaccurate labeling. These marketing errors could lead to consumers misusing the products and harming themselves.
Strict Liability and Negligence
In most cases, while you typically must establish some negligent action on the part of a person or company to establish a personal injury claim, product liability cases are different. A products liability claim generally require a lower standard of proof than regular personal injury claims. Many of these cases are based on the legal theory of strict liability.
Strict liability does not rely on a finding of fault or intention to cause harm by the manufacturer. Instead of proving that the manufacturer of a product was negligent, for instance, you need only prove that a consumer product was defective or unreasonably dangerous. To hold a manufacturer strictly liable, it is enough that the manufacturer produced a consumer product that harmed people.
Strict liability is simply a matter of public policy. We expect manufacturers to create only products that will benefit people and not harm people. As a result, manufacturers who produce effective or unreasonably dangerous products are responsible if those products cause harm to the consumers who use them.
Contact Gallagher & Kennedy, P.A., for Legal Advice About Your Case
Product liability claims can be complex and often involve going up a big corporation with seemingly unlimited resources. In this situation, you need an experienced product liability lawyer experienced in handling products liability cases who can stand up to these corporations and hold them accountable for their unreasonably dangerous and defective products.
Call our offices right away at 602-530-8400 or reach out to us online to schedule your free consultation today. We can help you understand your rights and potential remedies when you have suffered injuries after using a defective consumer product. Let’s schedule a free case evaluation with one of our Phoenix personal injury lawyers today!