Life After Injury: Handling Product Liability Claims
When you buy a product, you expect it to be safe to use. Unfortunately, that isn’t always the case. From faulty packaging to dangerous parts, harmful ingredients, products can hurt consumers in many different ways.
When you’re injured because of a faulty product, you can pursue potential damages through product liability claims. This process isn’t simple or easy. Having a Granite City product liability lawyer on your side makes a world of difference.
As an Illinois resident, look no further than Albers Injury Law. We’ll help you pursue compensation for the damages suffered due to a faulty product, giving you the time you need to focus on the important process of healing.
What Is Product Liability?
Product liability refers to the legal liability of a trader, manufacturer, or producer of a faulty item. By selling an item to the general public, the individual selling the item has a legal duty to their consumers to ensure that the item isn’t harmful.
If the consumer uses the product as intended and is injured, they have the right to pursue a civil claim for damages.
Product liability laws in each state govern how a court determines who is at fault for the injury caused by a potentially faulty or harmful product.
An Illinois product liability lawyer skilled in the field can help prove beyond a reasonable doubt that your injury did indeed come from a faulty or harmful product, allowing you to pursue compensation.
Common Types of Product Liability in Granite City
There are many different potential sources of injury when it comes to product liability cases. Your case may fall under one of several of these umbrellas.
Manufacturing defects
Defects can happen during the construction phase. For example, an incorrectly installed airbag could potentially cause injuries during a car crash. Under product liability laws in Illinois, both the airbag manufacturer and car manufacturer could hold liability.
Design defects
A product could have flaws from the very start. For example, if a pan’s unique shape makes it more likely for the handle to overheat, that design defect could cause harm.
Failure to warn
This is a type of marketing defect in which the team behind a product fails to disclose the potential hazards associated with using their product. For example, producers of a new heat styling hair tool could fail to warn that it may potentially overheat if left on over a certain length of time.
Breach of warranty
All products have a written warranty or an implied warranty that serves as an agreement between merchants and consumers. This warranty provides guarantees, such as the product being fit for its intended purpose. Failure to meet this requirement may constitute a warranty breach.
An Illinois product liability attorney can help you evaluate both written and implied warranties to ensure no breach goes unfound.
Product Liability FAQs
If you’ve suffered from an injury due to a potentially faulty product, you’ll want to understand product liability.
Who can sue under Illinois product liability laws?
As long as an item was sold, anyone can take legal action if they suffered harm because of it. In the past, you could only sue if you personally purchased the item, but in Illinois and many other states, that’s no longer true.
Who can you sue in a product liability case?
You could hold anyone in the manufacturing and distribution chain responsible for damages suffered because of a product, including:
The product manufacturer
- Manufacturers of different parts of the product
- Wholesalers
- The company or person who installs or assembles the product
- Merchants who sell products through their business
However, you can only target merchants who sell the product as part of regular consumer operations. This way, non-commercial sellers won’t get wrapped up in enormous liability cases.
For example, you can’t hold a person unknowingly selling defective car seats online accountable for the defect. That responsibility strictly falls on those higher up in the production and distribution chain.
Is there a deadline for making a product liability claim?
In Illinois, you have two years to file a product liability claim for personal injury and five years to file one for property damage. This countdown starts on the date of the injury or damage.
What kind of compensation can you expect?
If you’ve suffered from physical injury due to a faulty product, you can expect compensation for any of the following:
- Medical expenses
- Lost wages and loss of ability to work
- Physical impairment and disfigurement
- Emotional distress and loss of enjoyment of life
- Loss of consortium
You may also seek compensation for property damage you suffered because of a faulty product. For example, a hair dryer with faulty wiring could short out your electronics, costing you thousands of dollars in damages.
Having a Granite City product liability lawyer on your team makes it easier to prove the damages and injuries you suffered, increasing your chances of obtaining proper financial compensation for all losses you faced.
What must a plaintiff prove in an Illinois product liability case?
You’d need to demonstrate the following:
- You used the product only as intended.
- The product you used had some sort of defect.
- This defect directly led to your harm.
- You can gain compensation for the damages you face.
In short, it’s up to you to show that you used the product properly, it had a defect, and the defect directly led to an injury.
For example, if you use a curling wand to curl your hair, but it has a defective temperature limiter that overheats and burns you, you can prove the burn came from the curling wand’s defect. You can also show that compensation for the damage can go toward medical burn treatment.
Contact Our Granite City Product Liability Lawyers
One faulty product can upend your life. You could suffer from debilitating injuries that leave you hospital-bound with medical bills piling up. When you can’t work due to recovery, this can put you in a financial bind.
Fortunately, you can seek compensation. A Granite City product liability lawyer can help you navigate the legalities of a product liability claim. Our attorneys at Albers Injury Law are ready to stand by your side as you recover and fight for the compensation you deserve.
Don’t hesitate. Reach out to us today.