A Defective Product Attorney’s Guide to Product Liability
Products are everywhere, from children’s toys and food to electronics and motor vehicles. The manufacturers of the products you’re buying are required to follow guidelines that make their products safe enough for everyday use. Unfortunately, each year many consumers suffer injuries after using certain products, despite doing so as intended.
To protect yourself from using defective products, there are a few things you should keep in mind. We’ll examine what to do in the event that you use a potentially dangerous product, and what steps to take if you’ve suffered harm from one of them.
Product recalls
If you notice that a manufacturer is recalling a product, stop using it immediately and send back the product as instructed. Further tampering with the product is only going to make matters worse. Once you submit the product and a complaint, the manufacturers can perform a full product rework. However, if the product has caused you serious harm, keep the product as evidence for your case. If you choose to bring the product with you to court, it must remain unchanged from the time it injured you.
Recalls vs. defects
We’re certain you’ve seen products getting pulled off the shelves by manufacturers before. But what many don’t know is that there’s a significant difference between a recalled product and a defective product.
If a manufacturer knows that their product has severely hurt or killed consumers, they’ll recall it, meaning that they remove it from stores. Once a product recall is in place, sellers can no longer legally offer that specific item in their stores or online. On the other hand, a defective product may or may not be recalled, meaning that it could still remain on the market. Defective products are the types of items you should look out for. Watch out for articles online about these products and do your research before making purchases.
Consumer feedback
Consumers have the right to products that perform properly. If they don’t work as directed by the manufacturer, consumers should have the opportunity to get in touch directly with the manufacturer.
For manufacturers to understand how consumers feel, they need a way to receive comments and complaints. This way, manufacturers can determine if there are products they should recall or rework. This feedback can also save consumers the time and money that comes with handling defective and even dangerous products.
Understand how to file a lawsuit
Before bringing up your claim, you should know that each state has its own statutes of limitations. Therefore, it’s important to familiarize yourself with the three types of product liability claims recognized in Oregon. You can file a product liability lawsuit for manufacturing, design, or marketing defects.
- Manufacturing defects often happen during production. It’s the manufacturer’s responsibility to catch quality issues early in the process, but that might not always happen. When a product has a manufacturing defect, it has the potential to harm someone. Manufacturing defects can affect a single unit, a whole batch, or even an entire line.
- Design defects can happen even before a product is made. Manufacturers need to consider how their products will be used and identify any possible hazards. You must prove that there are design defects, and that those defects directly relate to your injury. You should also show that the product wasn’t modified before you bought it and that you were using the product as stated.
- Even if products are constructed properly, manufacturers many still be at risk for marketing defects. Marketing defects are failures to warn about or provide adequate instruction regarding a product. When a manufacturer doesn’t include necessary warning labels on their items, it can easily lead to a product liability In addition, the presence of a warning label doesn’t necessarily mean that a product is safe or that a manufacturer won’t run into trouble when injuries occur.
You must also watch out for product failure, such as a safety mechanism that doesn’t do its job. In any of these cases, you’ll need to show that the item you bought was unreasonably dangerous.
Additionally, keep in mind that Oregon’s time limit for filing lawsuits ends two years from the day you were injured, unless it’s only later that you discover that the product is responsible for an injury you‘ve sustained. Furthermore, you must file within ten years of purchasing the product, or within the statute of response for the state in which the manufacturer made the product. Of the two, the latter date will be considered in your case. If death is involved in your case, you must file within three years of the death and within ten years of the dangerous product’s purchase.
Use the right lawyer
When it comes to product liability, you need a lawyer who knows what they’re doing. To find a talented defective product attorney who will fight for your case, you should look for someone who:
- Has valuable insight—you should choose somebody whois honest, prepared, and dedicated to the best possible results.
- Has the ability to collect damages for medical expenses, impairment, disability, rehabilitation, lost wages, and pain and suffering— recovering from financial burdens is never easy.
- Will support your case and thoroughly inspect the product that harmed you—you need an expert on your team who knows exactly how the product operates and how it harmed you.
If you’re an Oregonian and a product malfunction caused your injury, contact Travis Mayor, the highly experienced defective product attorney at Mayor Law in Portland, OR. Travis Mayor understands that defective products can hurt consumers in life-altering ways, and that manufacturers need to be held accountable. For over a decade, he’s fought for fair compensation in every case. He focuses on the case so that you can focus on recovery.
Travis Mayor covers a variety of product liability cases, including cases involving medical devices, motor vehicles, pharmaceuticals, workplace machinery, and more. Explore our site to learn more about product liability claims, or call us today at 503.506.7891. Travis is ready to work for your case.