If you are filing a defective product lawsuit then you are the party bringing the complaint, or the plaintiff. Under defective product liability law, the plaintiff has the job of proving the product is defective and did indeed cause injuries. This is called the “burden of proof.”
Upon satisfying the burden of proof the other party, or defendant, will be held legally liable for your injuries and responsible for compensating you for your damages.
There are three ways in which you and your attorney may prove defective product liability:
- Proving negligence
- Proving breach of warranty
- Showing strict liability
Strict liability is a common route to show defective product liability.
Negligence
To prove negligence you must show that the manufacturer or seller failed to exercise reasonable care in designing, constructing, labeling, or otherwise selling the product.
Under a negligence claim the defendant must have a duty toward the plaintiff (i.e. the manufacturer has a duty to the consumer) and the plaintiff must prove the duty was breached. Additionally, you must prove that the breach of duty caused your injury.
Breach of Warranty
A breach of warranty theory looks at the warranty of a product essentially as a contract. To prove breach of warranty you must prove that there was a violation of the product’s warranty, thus a breach of contract or breach of warranty. Your attorney may argue that the warranty was expressly written or simply implied by the nature of the product.
Strict Liability
A strict liability offense means that you do not have to prove negligence or breach of warranty. If you show that you used a defective product designed, manufactured or sold by the defendant and that the defective product caused your injury, the defendant is legally responsible for your injuries.
Find an Attorney
Defective product liability is a complex area of law that varies state to state. There are many ways to prove fault and many legal defenses. To ensure the best outcome for your case contact an experienced attorney to discuss your defective product lawsuit.