Buford Product Liability Lawyer

Recognized Buford Product Liability Lawyers

As a consumer, you trust that the products you buy are safe to use and will work as intended. When a product fails you, it can cause injuries that impact your life. If you used the product as intended and sustained an injury, you can seek reimbursement for medical expenses and other losses you incurred from the accident. You must speak to a Buford attorney from Spaulding Injury Law. We are ready to help.

Types of product defects

When filing a product liability claim, you can cite two primary causes. The first is a defect in the design or manufacturing of the product. The other reason is due to improper marketing of the product. When marketing a product, it must have warning labels and usage directions.

Design defects

For the defect to be related to the design, there must be a mistake in the original design of the product. This design flaw makes the product unsafe for use. Design defects do not mean there is a manufacturing error. However, the burden of proof will still fall on you. You must prove that a hypothetical safer design could have been used to create the same function.

Manufacturing errors

Your case will argue that there was a mistake in the process, making the product dangerous. Everything can work fine with the design, but if the manufacturer makes a mistake, that can make the product unsafe. The error can be on a singular product or a batch. It can also be a mistake with the manufacturing process or the product itself.

Failure to warn

Warning labels can seem redundant but they do not make the product unsafe. Warning labels ensure you know you can suffer an injury if you take a specific action. Often these labels are put on after someone sues for failure to warn. If your product doesn’t have a warning sign, that can be the path for your product defect case.

Inherently dangerous

These products will always have dangers when using them. Being careful, warning signs and protective gear will not matter when using these products. Since these products are dangerous, the injuries are usually severe. Sometimes they are confused with design defect cases, but they are not. There is no safer design or way to use it. These cases are handled very differently than other product defect claims.

Spaulding Injury Law has years of experience handling product defect cases. Our product liability attorneys will investigate the product defect to determine the type of defect that caused your injuries. Once we determine the type of defect, we will know how to handle your case.

Modified comparative negligence and your claim

Product liability cases are very complex. One issue that often arises is how you use the product. The at-fault party will argue you were incorrectly using the product so they do not have to pay as much. Georgia has modified comparative negligence laws. You can recover damages if you are less than 50% at fault. You cannot recover damages if you are more than 50% responsible for causing your injury.

As you might imagine, the insurance company is pushing for your highest percentage rating. Even if they cannot get you over 50%, the higher it is, the less they have to pay you. Conversely, your product liability lawyer will work to do the opposite. We will fight to get you the least percentage rate possible, aiming for 0% in many cases.

The basics of a product liability claim

There are procedures for making a product liability claim against a manufacturer. While they are traditional personal injury claims, there are some unique factors. For a successful product liability claim, you must have certain elements:

• Show the product had a defect at the time of your injury
• We must show that the defective product caused your injury
• The product was the same or nearly the same as when it left the manufacturer
• You used the product as intended

A unique factor of these cases is that Georgia has strict liability laws. That means the manufacturer is liable for your damages without you having to prove their negligence. They have legal responsibility for an injury caused by their product. Another concept of note is the inherently dangerous product doctrine. This doctrine states that some products are always dangerous regardless of warnings and careful usage. It also means that the manufacturer will bear liability for injuries.

Take action now

You must hurry to take action. The deadline for a product liability case is two years from the injury date. It is four years for claims involving property damage from a product defect. These differences can make the statute of limitations tricky. Another complexity is when the clock starts ticking. Sometimes it begins on the date you discover the defect.