Sellers or manufacturers that have become the target of a product liability lawsuit want to find a personal injury lawyer that has acquired a familiarity with these methods.
In what way was the product harmful?
Repeated usage of some products might have shown that one specific usage often resulted in harm to the user. In other words, the product’s ability to cause harm was predictable in those situations.
Still, some consumer might experiment with a previously untried way for using a certain product. If that same consumer were to get injured, the manufacturer and retailer could not be held responsible. The danger posed by the product in that situation had been unpredictable.
Had the user/plaintiff been negligent?
If a product comes with a set of instruction, a smart consumer follows those instructions. Someone that has misused a given item cannot sue the manufacturer for the existence of a defect.
Of course, this potential defense also burdens manufacturers with an added obligation. Any set of instructions should be clear and easy to follow. The absence of clear instructions could become grounds for a lawsuit, just as easily as the absence of a warning.
The maker of a given item should make sure that all newly purchased items are safe. Still, some shoppers might visit second hand stores, and buy a used item from such a location. The same shoppers should not assume that an item purchased from a second-hand store is as safe as one that was bought from an official retailer.
Possible defense for a breach of warranty
The buyer/plaintiff might have disclaimed the warranty at the time of purchase. Whenever a product’s buyer disclaims the associated warranty, the buyer and seller reach an agreement. A written document should serve as evidence of that same agreement, as per the injury lawyer in London.
A defense that a personal injury lawyer should recognize in some states, but not in all states
In some states, anyone injured by a defective product must provide the product’s maker of his or her plan to initiate a personal injury lawsuit. Typically, that notice needs to reach the offices of the manufacturer within a certain period of time, once the user has been injured. In those states, the user’s failure to provide that expected notice forces the courts to deny the pursuit of a lawsuit. Of course, in the case of a large manufacturer, the notice could be sent to more than one possible office.
Hence, an injured user should be able to direct a notice to an office in a different time zone. That possibility might provide the user with extra time for preparing the required notice. Of course, a smart consumer would note the location of the International Date Line.