product defect

When you purchase or lease a product, you have every right to assume the manufacturer has ensured you can use it safely. Yet manufacturers often fail to live up to this simple responsibility, putting dangerous and defective products on the market and placing unsuspecting consumers in peril.

If a defective product has hurt you, you deserve compensation for what the careless business cost you, including your medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering. But if you’re going to take on a big company with a team of defense lawyers at its disposal, you’ll need some legal firepower of your own — by way of a Miami defective products attorney — to come out on top.

That’s where Gregg M. Goldfarb, LLP comes in. Our law firm partners with the most experienced product liability attorneys, helping clients get the skilled legal representation they need to pursue justice and accountability. Contact us today for a free consultation, and find out how a product liability lawyer in Miami can assist with your case.

What Does Product Liability Mean?

Product liability is the legal theory that a person or company that designs, manufactures, or sells a defective item can be held responsible for the damage that item causes. Florida law does not require you to prove that a manufacturer caused a defect due to negligence. Instead, you can hold the manufacturer liable simply because they put a defective product on the market that injured you.

What Are Common Examples of Defective Products?

Although any product can suffer a defect that creates an injury risk, some categories of products tend to suffer from defects more frequently than others. They include:

  • Vehicles and auto parts, including tires, brakes, airbags, and transmissions
  • Medical devices, including hip implants, hernia meshes, and CPAP/BiPAP machines
  • Children’s products, such as toys, car seats, strollers, rockers, infant formula, and cribs
  • Pharmaceutical drugs
  • Pesticides and other farming or lawn care products
  • Cosmetics and personal care products, such as talc powder and hair relaxers
  • Cleaning products
  • Household appliances
  • Power tools and equipment
  • Industrial equipment and machinery

What Are the Different Kinds of Defective Product Liability Claims?

In a product liability case, you can argue that a product suffered from one or more of the following four kinds of defects:

  • Design defect – A design defect claim alleges that the design or specifications of the product render it inherently dangerous for its intended or foreseeable uses. A design defect will affect all copies of a product sharing that exact specification.
  • Manufacturing defect – A manufacturing defect claim alleges that some error occurred during the manufacturing or assembly process so that the product failed to conform to the standard specifications and became dangerous as a result. A manufacturing defect may affect only one copy of a product or larger production runs.
  • Failure to warn – A failure to warn claim, also called an informational or marketing defect claim, alleges that a product lacked sufficient instructions and warnings to ensure its safe use for its intended and foreseeable uses or that it lacked sufficient warnings regarding its inherent dangers.
  • Breach of warranty – Grounds for a product liability claim may also arise when a product fails to comply with express warranties offered by the manufacturer or retailer, and this deficiency injures a user.

Who is Liable if You Are Injured or Damaged by a Defective Product?

Depending on the circumstances, you could pursue financial compensation from any party in the “chain of commerce” that brought the product to market and bears liability for the product’s defect. Parties in the chain of commerce include:

  • Parts or materials suppliers
  • The manufacturer responsible for the final assembly
  • Wholesalers or distributors
  • Retailers

The chain of commerce ends once a product reaches its first purchaser or lessee who does not acquire the product to sell it onward. Thus, a product owner who later resells the product second-hand does not have any liability if the second owner suffers an injury.

What If a Family Member Dies as a Result of a Defective Product?

If a loved one died from injuries caused by a defective product in Florida, your family can pursue compensation for the following losses by filing a wrongful death claim:

  • The value of your loved one’s lost support and services
  • The loss of your deceased spouse’s companionship and protection
  • The loss of your deceased parent’s companionship, instruction, and guidance
  • Mental pain and suffering from the loss of a spouse, parent, or child
  • Medical and funeral/burial expenses incurred by surviving family members

Your loved one’s estate can also recover compensation for loss of earnings between the date of injury and death, loss of the prospective net accumulations of the estate, and medical and funeral/burial expenses paid by the estate.

Your family has only two years after your loved one’s passing to file a lawsuit against the manufacturer(s) of the dangerous product, so speak with an attorney as soon as possible.