You have the right to expect to be safe when using consumer goods, machinery, vehicles, medication, medical devices, construction equipment, and other products and equipment in your daily life. The truth is that dangerous and defective products kill or seriously injure millions of people each year.
When a good or product you purchase malfunctions and injures you, you can sue various parties who might have contributed to the situation. Many products are defective due to design flaws, poor manufacturing, or improper or incorrect labeling. You can sue not only the company that produced the product but also manufacturers and even retailers who sold you the product. You may recover damages related to your injuries, which might be significant, and those related to your painful experiences, such as pain and suffering.
Contact our New York City product liability lawyers at The Carrion Law Firm for a free case review by calling (718) 841-0083.
Product Liability Law in New York City
Product liability is an area of law that holds the makers and distributors of faulty and hazardous products responsible for the harm they cause. However, certain requirements must be met to hold the makers of a damaged or defective product liable for the injuries you sustained, such as showing when the defect occurred and that you were using the product as intended.
The Timing of the Defect
Generally, the good or product in question should have arrived to you already damaged or defective. For example, if the product was damaged sometime after you purchased it but before you used it, the makers of that product might not be liable.
Even so, there are exceptions to the circumstances. For example, if the product was damaged after you purchased it, but the damage occurred because it was poorly designed with low-quality materials, the product’s maker might be liable.
The Product’s Intended Use
Additionally, you must have been using the product for its intended purpose and in a safe manner when the accident occurred. This is particularly important in cases involving damaged or defective power tools that are inherently dangerous even when used correctly. If your injuries occurred because you used a product recklessly or for a purpose it was not designed for, the product makers are probably not liable.
However, if you were injured because you were using the product in an unsafe way only because the instructions for the product were incorrect, the makers of the product might be liable.
Common Defective Products Involved in NYC Lawsuits
In 2023, over 12 million people were in accidents involving numerous types of consumer products. Most products and equipment you come across in your home or workplace may become the subject of a product liability lawsuit, including vehicles, household goods, medications, and food.
Cars and Parts
For instance, defective cars and automotive equipment cause many accidents. An airbag might have failed to deploy properly, the brakes were defective, or the power steering failed.
Whether the car was purchased new or used, the vehicle or part manufacturer should still be held accountable. The dealership that sold the car could also be sued if it was aware of the defect before making the sale.
Household Products
Common household appliances, cleaners, and tools are also responsible for numerous accidents. Perhaps your lawnmower or power saw was equipped with a faulty safety guard. Or maybe your coffee maker or hairdryer electrocuted you because of a defective power cord. Cleaning products with deficient child-proof caps also regularly injure children.
Medical Devices and Medications
Defective prescription medications and medical devices often cause serious harm, especially to elderly and infant victims. Many times, companies forego safety testing before putting a drug or device on the market to cut costs. Other times, medications are produced with dangerous ingredients or mislabeled with the wrong dosage or instructions.
Children’s Products
Countless defective product claims are filed over faulty toys and other children’s products. Some manufacturers produce child goods that violate federal production regulations intended to prevent strangulation and entrapment hazards. Highchairs or stroller toys might have specific parts that present serious choking hazards to infants. Companies must recall such products once they are aware of the defect.
Food Products
Someone poisoned by contaminated food might also have a claim against the manufacturer, distributor, or retailer, depending on when the contamination occurred.
Food manufacturers and distributors sometimes ignore storage and transporting regulations, leading to potentially deadly bacterial outbreaks.
Retailers, like restaurants and grocery stores, can be held liable if they undercooked certain foods or sold them past their expiration date.
Many times, food is not adequately labeled with all the ingredients and allergens. If a manufacturer fails to include peanuts as an ingredient or a restaurant’s menu item does not list it, the damages from an allergic reaction can be severe.
Common Types of Defects in Product Liability Lawsuits in New York City
Defective products are often dangerous. Even if you follow all safety instructions when using a certain good or product, you might still be injured if the item was defective when it arrived in your possession. The nature of the defect in your case will vary based on the specific defective product involved, but some common types of defects should be on our radar.
Defects fall into three general categories: unsafe product designs, manufacturing defects, and improperly labeled instructions or safety precautions. If you believe your injuries were caused by one of these common defects or something different, contact our New York City product liability attorneys for help immediately.
Unsafe Designs
When engineers and designers fail to take into account the way consumers use their products, you could be injured. A poorly designed product may cause injuries regardless of how well it is manufactured. For example, a child’s toy with small, removable parts that can present a choking hazard if swallowed may entitle the parents to sue for damages. Additionally, the makers of a product might be liable if that product is inherently dangerous (e.g., power tools and heavy machinery) and does not have adequate safety features or lacks them completely.
Manufacturing Defects
A well-designed product may still be unsafe due to a flaw in the manufacturing process. Examples may include food or pharmaceutical products contaminated by cleaning solutions used on production equipment or a lawn mower built using metal too weak to securely hold the rotating blades in place. Manufacturing defects can also include damage accidentally caused to the goods during the manufacturing or packaging process.
Improper Labeling
Improper or insufficient instructions for the safe use of a product or warnings about potential dangers may cause injuries. An example of improper labeling would be the failure of a cold medication to include on its label a warning to parents about the harm it may cause if given to infants. Additionally, medicines that lack information about dosages and side effects might also open manufacturers up to liability. The same goes for tools without safety instructions or food that lacks a list of ingredients on its label.
Determining Who is to Blame in a Product Liability Lawsuit in New York City
Multiple parties may be at fault for a defective or dangerous product. The manufacturer, designer, and seller of a damaged or defective good can be held liable if that product causes injuries. In fact, almost anyone in the chain of sale can be held responsible for a defective good.
For example, a faulty or malfunctioning airbag might allow a claim for damages against the airbag manufacturers and the auto manufacturer that installed them in its vehicles. An injured victim could also take action against the dealership that sold them the defective vehicle.
Figuring out who should be held liable might require some investigation. It can be difficult to determine whether a particular product was poorly designed unless we examine the design plans and compare them to similar products. We might also need to examine the industry standards regarding how that product should be designed, manufactured, and sold to determine who in the chain of sale bears the most blame.
Legal Theories to Establish Liability in an NYC Defective Product Claim
Negligence is the basis for liability in many claims, which means proving the defendant failed to use reasonable care. Alternatively, in a strict liability claim, responsibility is established if the defect substantially contributed to causing a victim’s damages. A manufacturer’s breach of warranty can also prove liability. However, liability can shift to the plaintiff if they are found contributorily negligent or they assumed the risk.
Negligence
In these claims, the plaintiff alleges that the manufacturer did not exercise the ordinary, reasonable care that other, similar manufacturers would use. If the defendant acted in a way when designing or manufacturing their product that another like manufacturer would not, they will likely be held liable.
First, evidence must show that the manufacturer owed you a duty of care as a foreseeable user of the product. Next, breach of duty must be proven by demonstrating how the manufacturer violated their duty of care.
We must then show that the breach of duty caused your injuries rather than another, intervening factor. If these three elements are established, you should recover compensation if you have actual economic and non-economic damages.
Strict Liability
Strict liability is another liability theory that focuses on the dangerousness of a product rather than the defendant’s unreasonable conduct. Plaintiffs in a strict liability products claim do not need to prove how the defendant failed to use reasonable care.
Plaintiffs are not even required to prove the specific defect in the product or that the defendant was aware of it. Instead, you must show that the product failed to perform as intended. Further, other potential causes for the product’s defectiveness must be excluded.
Breach of Warranty
Manufacturers make express and implied warranties when selling their products, usually on the product label or through advertisements. When a product fails to perform in a certain way as intended, a victim can file a breach of warranty claim.
However, you might not be able to identify the defect or how the defendant acted negligently. Fortunately, these claims are similar to those involving strict liability. You must prove that you were a foreseeable consumer and the product did not work according to the warranty made.
Contributory Negligence and Assumption of the Risk
Plaintiffs can also be held liable even if the product was defective if they also acted negligently or assumed the risk of their actions.
In a negligence case, a manufacturer can claim contributory negligence, asserting that you did not use the product as intended. If you are found partially at fault, your compensation will be reduced by the percentage of fault assigned to you. If you are found 60% at fault, that amount will be subtracted from your award.
In strict liability claims, defendants can argue that you assumed the risk of using the product. This typically requires them to show that you were aware of the defect and potential danger but ignored it anyway.
Compensation When Defective Products Cause Injuries in New York City
Injuries caused by a defective or dangerous product may include burns, lacerations, broken bones, scarring and disfigurement, and other significant harm. It may even result in death.
Economic Damages
Economic damages demanded in a product liability lawsuit to compensate a victim may include the following:
- Physician and hospital expenses
- Nursing care
- Prescription medications
- Medical equipment
- Physical therapy
Not only can you claim existing economic damages, but you can also claim anticipated future costs too. For example, if your injuries are so severe that you are expected to receive ongoing or indefinite medical care, you can claim the estimated value of future medical expenses. Similarly, if you cannot return to work for a lengthy period, you cannot return at all, you can add your lost future earnings to your economic damages calculations.
Non-Economic Damages
You can also claim non-economic damages for the painful personal experiences you went through as a result of the accident, including the following:
- Physical pain
- Mental or emotional suffering
- Humiliation
- Damage to your reputation
- Loss of enjoyment of life
Non-economic damages are often difficult to calculate because they do not come with predetermined monetary values. The value of your non-economic damages often depends on how deeply these damages affect your daily life. A plaintiff whose life is significantly impacted or hindered because of their injuries might be able to claim high non-economic damages.
Wrongful Death Damages
When the product causes the death of a victim, the family may be entitled to damages for wrongful death. The victim’s family would bring such a case, and damages may be assessed according to specific wrongful death statutes.
Evidence You Need in a New York City Product Liability Lawsuit
You cannot prove your claims and recover damages in a product liability lawsuit if you do not have sufficient evidence to back you up. The evidence you need will vary based on how you were injured and the nature of the product’s defect. Our New York City product liability lawyers have experience with these cases and can help you find the evidence you need.
First and foremost, we need the defective product. The defective product is at the heart of your lawsuit, and we need to present it in court as evidence to show how it is defective and caused your injuries. Certain products, like cars or heavy machinery, obviously cannot be transported to a courtroom, but photographs, diagrams, and possibly even expert testimony about the product should be collected.
We also need your medical record to prove the extent of your injuries. Lawsuits are notoriously time-consuming, and many plaintiffs have at least partially recovered from their injuries by the time they get to a courtroom. We need your medical records to show a jury how severe and painful your injuries were on the date of the accident.
Contact Our New York City Product Liability Attorneys
Call The Carrion Law Firm today at (718) 841-0083 for a free case evaluation from our product liability lawyers.
