What Do You Have to Prove in a Product Liability Case? Find Out Here
When you’re injured or become ill because of a defective product, you may have a legal claim against the manufacturer, distributor, or retailer of the product.
Such claims are usually based on the legal theory of “product liability.”
To win a product liability case, you must prove that the product was defective and that the defect caused your injury or illness.
However, proving these two elements can be difficult.
This is because, in most cases, you will not have direct evidence of the product’s defect or how it caused your injury. Instead, you will need to use circumstantial evidence to prove your case.
Therefore, in this article, we will discuss what exactly you need to prove to win a product liability case.
Proving That a Product Caused the Injury or Illness
The first element that you need to prove to win a product liability case is that the product caused your injury or illness.
This can be difficult to do because, in many cases, there will not be any direct evidence linking the product to the injury or illness.
That’s why it is essential to work with an experienced attorney who can help you gather the necessary evidence to prove causation.
For instance, if you were injured by a defective power tool in Edmond, your attorney will likely subpoena the Edmond company’s records to see if there have been any other injuries reported with that particular model of the power tool.
Additionally, your Edmond product liability attorney may retain an expert witness who can testify as to how the defect in the power tool caused your injuries.
This way you can be sure that you have the best possible chance of proving causation and winning your case.
Proving That The Product Was Defective
The second element that you need to prove to win a product liability case is that the product was defective.
Three types of defects can give rise to a product liability claim: design defects, manufacturing defects, and marketing defects.
Design defects are inherent in the product itself. An example of a design defect would be if a car had a design flaw that made it prone to rolling over.
Even if the car was manufactured correctly and according to specifications, it would still be defective because of the design defect.
Manufacturing defects occur when a product is not manufactured according to the specifications outlined in the product’s design.
An example of a manufacturing defect would be if a batch of toy cars was made with paint that contained lead, making them unsafe for children to play with.
Marketing defects occur when a product is not properly labeled or comes with inadequate instructions or warnings.
An example of a marketing defect would be if a bottle of cleaning solution did not have a warning label that cautioned users to keep it out of reach of children.
Proving That the Defect Made the Product Dangerous to Use
The third element that you need to prove to win a product liability case is that the defect made the product dangerous to use. In other words, you must prove that the product was not reasonably safe for its intended use.
To do this, you will need to show that the defect made the product more dangerous than an average consumer would expect it to be.
This can be difficult to do because, in many cases, the manufacturer of the defective product will argue that the consumer should have known that the product was dangerous and used it accordingly.
The best way to combat this argument is to work with an experienced attorney who can help you gather evidence to show that the defect made the product dangerous and that the average consumer would not have expected it to be dangerous.
They will know how to find witnesses and experts who can testify to this effect.
Proving That the Injury or Illness Was Reasonably Foreseeable
The fourth element that you need to prove to win a product liability case is that the injury or illness was reasonably foreseeable.
This means that you must show that the manufacturer of the defective product knew or should have known that the defect could result in injury or illness.
To do this, you will need to gather evidence showing that the manufacturer was aware of the defect and the potential for injury or illness, but failed to take steps to fix the problem or warn consumers about it.
Once again, an experienced product liability attorney will know how to find this evidence and present it in a way that is most likely to convince a judge or jury that the injury or illness was reasonably foreseeable.
Whether you were injured by a defective product or you lost a loved one to a defective product, you may be entitled to compensation
To learn more about your legal rights and options, contact an experienced product liability attorney. They will help you investigate your claim, gather evidence, and build a strong compensation case.