Suppose you unknowingly buy a new car with bad brakes. You get into a bad car accident and end up with a permanently impaired back. You would naturally want to hire a personal injury lawyer who would tell you to file a defective product lawsuit. This is because you have obviously been injured badly by a defective product. However, before you and your lawyer proceed to do this, you should read this article because you will learn about the different liability theories in defective product claims cases.
Once you know the four theories that are used in defective product cases, you will have a better understanding regarding your ability to file a defective product claim or lawsuit. Your personal injury lawyer in El Monte will tell you that you can use more than one of the theories in your claim or lawsuit against the manufacturer and/or distributor.
Breach of express warranty
If you buy a product that comes with a warranty, it is essentially a guarantee to you from the manufacturer that the product is completely functional and safe to use. The warranty is said to be ‘breached’ if this is not the case. You have an express warranty if the warranty states any one of the following in writing:
● The guarantee was on the labeling or packaging of the product
● The product instructions expressed the guarantee in writing
● The signs or material that marketed the product in the store where you made the purchase expressed the guarantee in writing
● Any form of advertising expressed the guarantee in writing.
A good example of a breach of warranty is if you suffer from substantial damage to your hands after using a weed whacker whose warranty expressly stated in writing that it was safe to use in any outdoor environment.
Breach of implied warranty
Your product doesn’t have to come with a written warranty or guarantee in this instance. If it was subject to a law that required the manufacturer to assure the customers of its safety, this is called an implied warranty. You can sue the manufacturer for a breach of this type of warranty. The implied warranties and hence the circumstances under which you can file a claim or lawsuit will depend on the type of the product you buy and how and under what environment it is purchased in.
Implied warranty of purchase
This warranty guarantees that the product is safe for the purpose of which it is being used for. A good example is a hand blender that promises to be safe, yet slices through one of your fingers while you are using it.
Implied warranty of fitness for a particular purpose
This imposes an additional obligation on the manufacturer and the seller when both parties know that the customer will use the particular product for a certain purpose. This type of a warranty asserts both the fitness and safety of the product. A good example would be getting injured while mowing a lawn on rough terrain with a mower that implicitly stated that it could be used safely on rough terrain.
Strict Products liability
In most instances, a company that makes a defective product can be sued only if it failed to act with certain care of duty towards its customers, however, with strict liability, the company can be sued even if it did act with certain care of duty. This is because the law holds the manufacturer strictly responsible for any injuries its products can cause its customers. In this instance, you don’t need to prove that the manufacturer was careless. The sheer fact that you were injured by the product is evidence enough for your injury lawyer in Poway, to file a claim.