You may have purchased a product that you later found to be dangerous, caused injury or was not what was promised to you. In this situation, it is common to want to file legal action to recover losses that may have been financial, physical or emotional.
This blog gives a very brief introduction to the complex subject of product liability and the process of taking action against the person that holds responsibility for a product. This blog will discuss taking action through the argument of negligence or tortious misrepresentation.
Negligence
The tort of negligence is a central part of product liability law. Negligence toward a product can be proven if the following are true:
- The manufacturer owed the consumer a duty
- This duty was not fulfilled
- This unfulfilled duty caused an injury to the consumer
- This injury led to damages that can be proven in court
On top of these requirements, the person filing the case must be able to show that if it wasn’t for the manufacturer’s preventable negligence, the damages to the individual would not have occurred.
Tortious Misrepresentation
Tortious misrepresentation refers to false or misleading information that is communicated by a product manufacturer. This false information may have been relied upon and a person may have been harmed as a result. A case can be successful even if the product is not faulty itself, as long as it can be proven that the communication around the product was false and caused harm as a result.
More information about product liability
Product liability is a very complex issue. If you have any questions about product liability and mass torts, it is important that you seek trusted legal guidance so that your case can be assessed.
Source: Find law, “Legal basis for liability in product cases,” accessed July 27, 2017
