At least once in your life, you have probably dealt with a faulty product. One little piece missing, or a broken bit might make the product unusable. This can be quickly fixed, or returned for a refund. Mass production of products, and low quality material causes defective products all the time – but what happens if the defective product results in injury?
Defective products can result in injury, sometimes seriously. In these cases of a product being defective to the point of injury, the question then revolves around who is held responsible. This list contains some of the parties that are to blame, or partially to blame, in the event that you get injured by defective products.
Shipping Companies/Distributors
The company or distributor that ships the product can be held liable because of the fact that the product may be damaged on the way to the store, warehouse, or your door. Damage occurring during the shipping stage is very common, and can even result in a product being so damaged that it can cause harm. Examples can include glassware being broken or defective electronics. Even vehicles can sustain damage during this stage and result in a defective product resulting in injury.
Retailer or Store
The store or retailer that receives the product may also be responsible for a defective product resulting in injury. Retailers can mishandle products that are deemed unsafe. This is similar to how the distributor can be at fault for damaging the product. Retailers are also liable for willingly putting out stock of products that they are aware may be damaged. This is a practice that happens all too often, because a company does not want to lose money throwing away goods. It is an unethical practice and can result in innocent people getting hurt from goods that are faulty, but unfortunately it does happen.
Manufacturer
One of the primary concerns when it comes to defective products stems from the manufacturers themselves. More often than not, the source of the problem comes from the company itself. Many cases involving injury from products stems from the manufacturer as they are responsible for the product. In this case, the experts at https://www.kocianlaw.com/defective-product-lawyer/ discuss the need for defective product lawyers. These lawyers specialize in handling cases where individuals are harmed by a product that is defective. The importance of these lawyers is that these cases are very particular, and can deal with big companies that do not want to handle the responsibility of owning up to their products being broken. Lawyers handle these cases for you because they can be complex sometimes.
Resellers
People who are reselling products may be to blame when it comes to a faulty product, but usually if they are aware that the product was broken and decide to resell it on their own to get rid of it. This is willful negligence as they know that the faulty product could cause harm, and instead of returning it to the manufacturer through a retailer, they simply hand it off to the next person while trying to profit it. Often times this is simply someone trying to resell online, and even if they are unaware of a product being defective, the blame can be put on them as well.
Product Designers and Engineers
Manufacturers might cut corners to save some money and create damaged products from the get go, but the design or engineering of them can be to blame too. Even if manufacturers release the product to the market, they might not be fully aware of how badly it might mess up for the consumers. With that in mind, the people behind the creation of the product on a technical level can be to blame, whether intentional or not. The issue with a defective product can be a far ranging group that needs to be held responsible, and it can get confusing. That is why lawyers specialize in this field, because of the complex run around that can happen when no one knows who is to blame, and people start pointing fingers at one another.
As you can see, the issue of faulty products and injury can get messy. There are so many parties who can be responsible so it is good to know who may be involved. Regardless of who is or is not to blame, the issue at hand is dealing with it, and that is why lawyers specialize in this kind of work. Figuring out who is responsible is the first step in getting compensation for any injuries sustained from a defective product.