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Any time you buy a product from a major manufacturer in the United States, you have a right to assume that what you get for your money will be reasonably safe for its intended purpose. However, for various reasons, non-functional and unsafe items end up on the market and can sometimes cause severe injuries to consumers because of their defects.
As a Chicago defective products lawyer could tell you, suing over an injury caused by dangerous merchandise is similar to standard personal injury litigation in some ways and very different in others. To give yourself the best chance of obtaining financial recovery, you should seek help from a seasoned personal injury attorney. Schedule a consultation with our team today to discuss your case.
Technically speaking, it is possible to sue manufacturers over defective products under the principles of traditional negligence, the same way a motor vehicle driver might be sued for irresponsibly causing a car wreck.
In practice, building defective merchandise claims under product liability is usually easier. This allows consumers to hold manufacturers strictly liable for injuries caused by specific types of defects, including:
In this context, strict liability means that the injured person does not need to prove that a defendant caused the flaw through a reckless or careless act. Instead, they must show that the product had one of the defects listed above, which directly led to their injury. A Chicago faulty items attorney could provide invaluable assistance with determining the type of defect that hurt their client.
A few additional conditions must be met for someone to have grounds for a defective product lawsuit alleging strict liability. First and foremost, the injured plaintiff must show that the defect existed in the item when it left its manufacturer’s direct control. This could be when they shipped it from a manufacturing plant to a distributor, retailer, or individual customer.
In these claims, the individual must show that the product’s condition did not meaningfully change between when it left the manufacturer’s control and when they received the merchandise. In addition, plaintiffs must prove that they were using a faulty product in a reasonable and foreseeable way and that all the damages stemmed primarily and directly from the defect. A Chicago lawyer who handles product liability cases could work closely with their client to build a solid civil case.
Even if the basic principles of product liability law seem straightforward, defective merchandise claims are usually anything but that. To make matters worse, manufacturing companies often devote a great deal of time, money, and effort to fighting these sorts of claims in court. This kind of opposition can be hard to overcome, even for someone with lots of evidence supporting their case.
However, holding a manufacturer liable for an injury their item caused you is not impossible. With the help of a professional legal team, you could obtain compensation for your injuries. Get in touch today to discuss your case and learn how a dedicated Chicago defective products lawyer could improve your odds of success.