Dangerous consumer products cause numerous avoidable injuries in every year. Ensuing recalls can only do so much to limit the harm that these products cause to unsuspecting consumers. If you were injured because something you bought was designed, manufactured, or marketed in an unsafe way, your options for pursuing civil litigation are different than those applicable to other types of personal injury claims.
As such, having the support of a seasoned Atlanta defective products lawyer could make a huge difference in your ability to effectively pursue compensation. From start to finish of your claim, a dedicated attorney at the Gunn Law Group could advocate tirelessly for your rights, help build the strongest possible claim, and demand fair restitution for all past and future negative effects of your injuries.
Types of Product Defects in Atlanta
In most personal injury claims, a plaintiff must prove negligence by a defendant in order to hold them accountable for damages. However, many product manufacturers bear strict liability for injuries caused by their products. If a product leaves its manufacturer’s direct control with one of three specific types of defects and sustains no substantial changes to its condition by the time it reaches the consumer, the consumer could potentially hold that manufacturer liable for injuries directly caused by the defect regardless of whether the manufacturer was “negligent” in a legal sense.Design Defects
The first legally actionable defect in this regard is a design defect. This refers to a fundamental problem with the way a product was conceptualized and designed that makes all produced incarnations of it unreasonably dangerous.Manufacturing Defects
Second, a product may be defective in manufacturing. An item may be unreasonably dangerous because a mistake or omission during manufacture or assembly made a particular unit or batch of the product unsafe.Marketing Defects
Finally, products may be defective in marketing if there is an inherent safety risk or hazard associated with normal use of the product. If the product’s packaging and included instructions do not warn consumers about the risks, this may constitute a marketing defect. Additionally, there are some circumstances where product manufacturers and even third-party wholesalers and sellers may bear liability for a product defect injury based on traditional negligence. A local product liability attorney could discuss specific filing options for a particular claim with an injured victim.Damages in Dangerous Product Claims
Any entity found legally liable for harm caused by a dangerous product could bear financial accountability for a victim’s past and future losses, both economic and non-economic. These could include:- Emergency medical expenses
- Costs of rehabilitative care and other out-of-pocket costs for long-term physical injury
- Personal property loss, including the costs of replacing the defective product
- Lost work income and/or working capacity
- Physical pain and suffering
- Emotional trauma, lost enjoyment of life, and other qualitative effects of long-term disability