Missouri Product Liability Attorneys
Product liability claims refer to the liability of one or all parties (manufacturers, distributors, suppliers, retailers and others) involved in manufacturing a product that has caused damage or injury because it was defectively designed. Most commonly, claims associated with product liability are negligence, strict liability, breach of warranty and consumer protection claims.
The injured person (plaintiff) must be able to prove that the product is defective in some way. There are three types of product defects that incur liability in manufacturers and suppliers:
1. Design defects occur before the product was manufactured. They occur where the product design is dangerous or useless no matter how it was manufactured. Often we see cases involving design defects with tires that fail suddenly at highway speeds, air bags that don't work properly, or pharmaceutical products that cause harm outside the area they are supposed to treat.
2. Manufacturing defects occur when the product is being constructed. They usually involve poor-quality materials or bad workmanship. Examples of manufacturing defects would be auto parts that fail because they were poorly made or airplane engines that have poor quality parts, etc.
3. A marketing defect happens when there are improper instructions or a failure to warn consumers of danger. These dangers are present regardless of how well the product is manufactured and designed, such as with chainsaws and lawnmowers.
A breach of warranty claim is another area of product liability and usually falls into one of three categories:
1. Breach of an express warranty
2. Breach of an implied warranty of merchantability
3. Breach of an implied warranty of fitness for a particular purpose.
Warranties are statements by a manufacturer concerning a product. A company breaches a warranty when a product doesn't do what the manufacturer claims it will do. A claim for breach of warranty has to prove that a duty to the customer was owed, a breach of that duty occurred, an injury to the customer occurred and that the breach proximately caused the customer's injury.
Many states also have consumer protection statutes. They are often used when a product is defective and causes economic injury. The best known consumer protection laws are the Lemon Laws that protect against automobile defects. Product liability claims are difficult to pursue. The law in the state of Missouri is complicated in this area, and attorneys such as those at Rotts Law Firm may be helpful for you in pursuing your claim(s). The law requires extensive expert witness testimony and product testing. Costs can reach deeply into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, sometimes into the millions.
The attorneys at Rotts Law Firm have handled product liability claims and are aware of many of the difficulties involved with pursuing such claims. Our attorneys carefully examine each potential claim to make sure it is appropriate to pursue.
Because cases of this nature are usually handled on a contingency fee basis, most of the time you will not be required to provide any money to pursue your claim at its outset.
The Missouri product liability attorneys at Rotts Law Firm have pursued claims ranging from medical equipment to seat back failures, pharmaceutical products, etc., and would like to discuss your potential case with you. Our attorney firm has a team of lawyers, paralegals and assistants who work together on claims of this nature. Please contact us for more information.
