Types Of Product Defects That Causes Liability

Every consumer has a right to purchase products of good quality. And to every business’s benefit, they should ensure that all the products they release to the market meet a certain standard. That’s because a defective product may cause physical damage to a consumer, which will hold involved parties liable.

Product liability is an area of law that holds responsible every entity that makes products available to the public for injuries that those products cause. It’s established for consumer protection and to uphold their rights to purchase products of excellent condition. Every manufacturer, supplier, retailer, and distributor is subject to this legal liability once they’re found selling faulty products.

In case you ever sustain an injury due to a product you bought, you can receive compensation. However, to go about it, you first have to know what are the grounds for it. Here are the types of product defects that cause liability.

Design defects

Design defects occur when products sold in the market are designed with dangerous or defective characteristics. These products most likely weren’t thought of properly, weren’t subjected to proper quality control, or were completely ignored by the manufacturer. Sometimes these defects aren’t visible but are still hazardous to consumers.

Design defects affect an entire product line, which can be detrimental to more consumers and lead to more parties’ incurring liabilities. Having a whole line of faulty products may result in several injuries; starting a class action lawsuit, another way for consumers to hold manufacturers and traders liable. To learn more about it, check this source material on how to start a class-action lawsuit.

Common examples of a design defect include a particular car model with a tendency to flip while turning a corner and children products with choking hazards such as toys. You can qualify for a product liability claim via design defect once you’ve shown any injuries or damages you sustained because of the product. For example, proof of crashing caused by the flipping tendency of the car model while you were turning is a valid claim of unsafeness regardless of its specifications claiming otherwise.

Manufacturing defects

Manufacturing defects are the most common product liability claims. However, contrary to design defects, these product faults only affect certain units or batches of a product. As a result, the injury-causing product is different from the same models or units out in the market.

Defects in manufacturing involve errors or contamination that happens during production. Such errors may range from small ones like missing parts or larger ones like factory problems. For example, a seatbelt missing a component that allows it to lock into place is a common instance of manufacturing defects.

Product liability claims caused by a defectively manufactured injuring product are liability without fault. That means the manufacturer doesn’t have to act negligently for a court to impose liability.

Labeling defects

Labeling defects happen when a product lacks the critical warning on its label or instructions. It’s also categorized as a marketing defect since the label is part of a product’s branding. Faults like this may be smaller than the other two, but it poses significant hazards to consumers.

Any product with precautionary measures should be obvious to consumers for safe usage. Examples of products that can incur product liability can be an electric tea kettle packaged without enough warning about the position of its steam valve. If you get burned while using the tea kettle, you can present the labeling to prove your claim.

Wrapping up

You can use these product defects to prove the liability of manufacturers, suppliers, and traders for any harm they caused you. You should consult a lawyer to further your claim to compensate for the injury you sustained. Protect your rights as a consumer and hold product makers to a higher standard by keeping yourself safe from faulty products.

Author’s Bio:

Deinah Storm used to work in the corporate world as a marketing affiliate. She quit her job to pursue her passion for writing, but to this day, Deinah is committed to educating consumers about the different marketing scams and how to avoid them.