How Can You Determine If a Product Is Defective or Faulty?
Getting an injury is never a good thing. This is especially true if you got an injury through no fault of your own. When a person is hurt because of a defective product or poor warnings for hidden dangers, they may be able to claim compensation for their injuries. But how do you know if it was a faulty product and not just a freak accident? Here’s how you can determine if a product is defective or faulty.
How to Determine If a Product is Defective or Faulty
One of the first questions people often ask a lawyer after they got an injury because of a product is how they can determine if that product was indeed defective or faulty. To determine if the product was defective, an experienced law firm will likely ask several questions and look into particular aspects of the product. These questions and investigations generally include:
- What was the product?
- Who are the competitors to the manufacturer of the product?
- What are their competitors doing similarly or differently?
- What do the industry standards require?
- Are there any safety warnings missing?
- Could the injury suffered be preventable?
- If the injury could be preventable, should it have been prevented?
- Are there any changes that could have been made to the product which would have made it safer?
- Did you preserve the product and is it still available for product engineers to inspect?
Depending on the above answers, an experienced product liability attorney will be able to determine if a person has a strong claim for compensation for injuries suffered by a defective or faulty product.
Common Defective Products
Defective and fault products come in all shapes and sizes. But, they can generally be broken down into three distinct categories.
Defectively Manufactured
The most obvious type of defective products is those which had defective manufacturing. These include all items that contain basic physical or chemical production mistakes. A step-ladder with a poorly riveted step is one such example. Usually, these defects are in isolation and most of the manufactured products are not defective.
Defectively Designed
Defectively designed products are those which the manufacturer poorly designed. Should, for instance, the buckles on a child restraint be too weak and a child gets an injury in a crash, the product would have a design defect. These cases require proof that another method of design would have reduced the likelihood of harm or injury in similar circumstances.
Improper Warnings
Products need to have warnings that provide consumers with information pertaining to any dangers they may pose. If a manufacturer or retailer fails to provide these warnings when there is a danger which is not obvious to a reasonable person, an injured party may have the right to seek compensation for the injuries they suffered.
Contact a Knowledgeable Product Liability Attorney Today
If you get an injury because of a defective product, you may have an entitlement to compensation for your injuries. As well as your pain and suffering. You need an experienced and knowledgeable attorney on your side. Rossetti & DeVoto, PC is willing to assist you through the process of claiming compensation for your injuries caused by a defective product. Our New Jersey defective product attorneys will relentlessly fight for your rights, and make sure that you always come out on top. Call us today at (844) 263-6260 for a free, no-obligation consultation.
