These days, shopping is as easy as picking up your cell phone. Consumers make their purchasing decisions based on good faith that the product they buy will be both safe and sold to them as advertised. Unfortunately, the quality of some may not be up to par. If you are injured by a product that is defective, the law offers several roads of recourse where you can receive compensation for your injuries. Here’s to what to do you are injured by a defective product.
In Louisiana, defective products are covered under the Louisiana Products Liability Act. This act details the scope of a manufacturers liabilities and the burden of proof required needed to file a successful claim. The following things, or elements, which need to be proven are:
- You were injured or suffered financial losses: Without an actual physical injury or monetary loss, you may not be able to bring a claim against a retailer or manufacturer.
- Defective product: You must be able to prove that the product that injured you is defective. Proving this may be difficult, depending upon the nature of the injury or loss suffered and the type of product.
- The product’s defect caused the injury: It is not enough to simply argue that you were injured while using the defective product in question. Rather, you must demonstrate specifically that your injury was a direct result of the defect.
- You were using the product as was intended: You must prove that you were using the product in a way intended by the manufacturer. You can’t, for example, sue a company that makes blow driers after you got electrocuted when you tried using the blow drier underwater! That would be the epitome of a frivolous lawsuit.
Proper Defendant
The variety of defendants that sued for any injuries resulting from the defective or dangerous product are just as diverse. Instead of having to track down the product’s manufacturer, a plaintiff is may simply file suit against the retailer who sold said product.
According to Louisiana law, any member of the product’s chain of commerce may be sued so long as the following two facts are present:
- First, the product must be proven to have been defective when it left the control of the party in question.
- Second, the party must be in the business of selling the product in question — whether the sales are to consumers or other retailers is not admissible or relevant.
Types Of Product Liability Claims
Negligence
A negligence claim requires you to show that the defendant failed to exercise reasonable care in the designing, manufacturing, designing, selling or warning of the dangers associated with the product.
Strict Liability
Perhaps the most common type of products liability claim is that of strict liability. As the name suggests, strict liability claims don’t look to blame at all; instead, the wrongful act merely is selling a defective product, even if the manufacturer could not have been more careful.
Warranties
A final method of recovering for injuries caused by a defective product is through breach of express or implied warranties. This claim, for example, can include people selling products that were explicitly marked as samples, and the like.
Seeking a Louisiana Injury Attorney
If you suffered an injury due to a dangerous product, or one which was defective, in Louisiana contact the Schwartz Law Firm today at 504-266-0253 to set up a free initial consultation. You pay nothing unless we win a recovery for you.