How Can You Prove a Defective Product Liability Claim?

How Can You Prove a Defective Product Liability Claim?

A defective product liability claim can be brought against a company when their product caused you to become injured or suffer damages. To win a claim, the law requires that you prove four elements of the case:

  • You suffered losses or became injured.
  • The product you have is defective.
  • The injury or loss was caused by the defect.
  • The product was being used as intended.

Injuries or Losses

You must prove that you incurred a monetary loss or suffered a physical injury. Near-misses won’t count. A product might almost injure you thanks to a defect in the manufacturing, but unless you can prove that you suffered actual harm or damage to your property, you won’t be able to make a claim.

Defective Product

You’ll need to provide proof that your product has a defect. The way to prove this will vary depending on what kind of claim you’re making.

If the product was defective due to an error in the manufacturing, you might have an easy time making your claim. All you need to do is provide proof that there was a physical defect when you used the product.

For claims that there was a defect in the design, you might have a harder time providing proof. You’ll need to show that the product was unreasonably dangerous to use. One example might be a clay set that explodes due to its construction out of explosive material. Dangerous products won’t always be the responsibility of the supplier or manufacturer, however. If a product’s danger was reasonable due to the intended use of the product, you’ll have a hard time making a claim.

You might also make a claim if you were not warned about a hazard regarding the product. Success with these claims depends on showing that the customer would be unaware of a potential hazard, and that the manufacturer did not warn about the hazard.

Defect Caused Injury or Loss

Not only will you need to show that you were injured while the defective product was being used, but you’ll need to demonstrate that the injury was a direct result of the defective product. In most cases, this will be a fairly easy element to document. However, there might be difficulty if there’s any reason for a manufacturer to claim other circumstances were at fault for the accident.

Product Was Used As Intended

The product must have been used in a manner that the manufacturer intended for it to be used. If ordinary consumers wouldn’t use the product in the manner that you were, and you were injured, you might not have a reasonable claim. If manufacturers could expect the product use, your claim is more valid.

Final Thoughts

Making sure you have all of the relevant documentation to prove your claim can be difficult. It might be helpful to contact this law firm. An experienced attorney can help make sure you have everything you need to get the compensation you deserve.