Product Liability
When you use a product in the way in which it is intended to be used, you should not have to worry about it injuring you.
Companies that design and manufacture consumer products, medical devices, and medications have ethical and legal duties to ensure that their products will not cause harm to people who use them.
Unfortunately, many people are seriously injured or killed by defective products each year. If you have suffered a serious injury while using a product in a reasonable manner, you may be able to recover product liability damages against the designers, manufacturers, and entities that are responsible for bringing the defective product to the market.
The experienced product liability attorneys at the Law Offices of Craig L. Cook understand how to investigate claims involving defective products so that we can successfully recover compensation for our clients.
What are Product Liability Claims?
- Design defects when the products’ designs are inherently dangerous
- Manufacturing defects that happen during the manufacturing process
- Marketing defects, which may include inadequate warnings or failures to warn
The most common claims are based on manufacturing defects. In these cases, the designs are safe, but something occurs during the manufacturing process to make the products unsafe.
A product has a manufacturing defect if it does not adhere to its design and doesn’t perform as safely as its design called for.
Most marketing defect cases involve manufacturers that fail to warn the public about an inherent danger of their products.
These types of claims often arise from cases involving prescription medications. It is important to note that the duty to warn does not extend to every possible risk.
Instead, the manufacturers’ duties to warn extend to those risks that reasonably should have been known based on the prevailing knowledge.
Liability in Product Liability Cases
In Arkansas and Oklahoma, claims involving defective products may be based on theories of negligence or strict liability. In strict liability cases, the plaintiffs do not have to show that the designer or manufacturer was negligent.
Strict liability means that the defendants may be liable when their products were used in the manner in which they were intended to be used and caused injury and financial harm to the plaintiffs.
To prove a strict liability claim, you will need to be able to show the following elements:
- The product was unreasonably dangerous at the time that it was sold;
- The defendants expected that the product would be sold on the market without any changes being made; and
- The plaintiff was injured by the product.
It is important to note that strict liability claims are not simple cases to win. There are exceptions to strict liability, and companies often have defense lawyers who aggressively defend against these types of claims.
The product liability attorneys at the Law Offices of Craig L. Cook are experienced in handling these types of cases, and we are able to anticipate the defenses that might be raised so that we can counter them.
How We Can Help
Product liability cases arise out of many different industries, meaning that our team must have in-depth knowledge of the different sectors so that we can build strong cases for clients.
We are knowledgeable about a broad variety of injuries and have an extensive understanding of the applicable consumer protection laws. Some of the most common types of defective products cases include the following:
- Defective toys
- Pharmaceuticals
- Defective automobiles and construction equipment
- Defective baby products
- Transvaginal mesh claims
When we accept cases involving defect products, we take time to learn all that we need to know about the product and its industry. We may consult experts when we review the design and manufacturing process.
This helps us build strong cases that show liability for our clients, which we can then use to seek fair settlements on their behalf.
In a product liability claim, there may be multiple parties that are liable. Every entity that is involved in the chain of distribution may be potentially liable. This includes the designer, manufacturer, distributor, and retailer.
Your product liability attorney will work to identify all of the parties that should be named as defendants to your lawsuit so that you might recover all of the compensation to which you are entitled.
Need Help?
Looking for Legal Service With Global Quality?
At the Law Offices of Craig L. Cook, we offer free consultations with a product liability attorney so that you can learn more about your potential claim.
