Defective Products
Top Tampa Bay Defective Products Lawyers
Chadwick & Chadwick serves clients injured by defective products in Tampa Bay, including Pinellas, Hillsborough, Pasco, Hernando, Polk, Manatee counties and throughout central Florida.
A manufacturer of a product has a responsibility to produce a product free of defects in the design and manufacture. If a defect in a product causes personal injury, the injured person may be bring the lawsuit against the manufacturer, the seller, or anyone else who assisted in the distribution of the product.
Defective and dangerous products
Defective and dangerous products cause thousands of injuries to consumers and users of such products every year. And, the number of cases is not declining. Since the 1960s, there has been a steady increase of product liability cases. According to one study, 13,500 product liability suits were filed in federal court in 1986, compared to only 1,500 in 1974. And the number multiplies.
A product may be defective or dangerous because of a manufacturing defect, a design flaw or because of a failure to provide warnings. This three-point definition omits consumer expectations and jury sympathy, which are still matters of debate.
Defectively manufactured products
Perhaps the most obvious type of product liability claim is when an injury-causing product was defectively manufactured. A defectively manufactured product is flawed because of some error in making it, such as a problem at the factory where it was produced. As a result, the injury-causing product is different from all the other ones manufactured.
Examples of a manufacturing defect include:
- Swing set with a cracked chain
- Tainted batch of tooth paste containing a poisonous substance
- Motorbike missing its brake pads
In each case, the injury must have been caused by the manufacturing defect. So, if you misjudged a curve, drove off the road, and injured yourself while riding on the motorbike with the missing brake pads, you would only have a manufacturing defect claim if you could show that the missing brake pads — not your poor steering — caused your accident and injury.
Defectively designed products
In this type of product liability category, a product’s design is inherently dangerous or defective. These claims do not arise from some error or mishap in the production process, but rather assert that an entire product line is inherently dangerous, regardless of the fact that the injury-causing product was made exactly to the manufacturer’s specifications.
Examples of a design defect include:
- Particular model of car that has a tendency to flip over while turning a corner
- Type of sunglasses that fail to protect your eyes from ultraviolet rays
- Line of electric blankets that can electrocute you when turned on high
Once again, the injury must have been caused by the defective design. If you accidentally crash into another vehicle while driving one of the flip-prone cars, you would only have a design defect claim if you could show that you crashed because your car was in the process of flipping over while turning.
Failure to provide you with adequate warnings or instructions
The third type of product liability claim involves a failure to provide adequate warnings or instructions about the product’s proper use. Failure-to-warn claims typically involve a product that is dangerous in some way that’s not obvious to you or that requires you to exercise special precautions or diligence when using it.
Examples of a failure-to-warn claim include:
- Electric tea kettle that is packaged without sufficient warning concerning its oddly positioned steam valve
- Cough syrup that does not include on its label a warning that it may cause you dangerous side effects if taken in combination with another commonly taken medication
- Corrosive paint-removing chemical with inadequate instructions for safe use
As with the previous definitions, your injury must result from the manufacturer’s failure to properly warn or instruct you. If you were burned while using the tea kettle, you would only have a failure-to-warn claim if you were burned by steam coming out of the oddly positioned steam valve.
Getting defective product help
You may wish free defective product consultation or the services of Chadwick & Chadwick, lawyers who are experts in product liability. They are ready to respond to your call, day or night. 813-264-1500.
Many injuries our clients have suffered are life altering. Often their injuries are not accidental, but traceable to an underlying cause: a defective product or to a known design or manufacturing flaw.
The product liability experiences handled by the Tampa Bay Chadwick & Chadwick encompasses a wide variety of situations and consumer products, including:
- Children’s products
- Pharmaceutical products
- Medical devices
- Manufacturing equipment
- Industrial equipment
- Farming equipment
- Boating accidents
- Construction accidents
- Electrical wiring
- Motor vehicles
- Motorcycle parts
- Fuel tanks
- Bike and motorcycle helmets
- Faulty hydraulic lines
We believe that demanding full accountability from the manufacturers of unsafe products serves an important purpose – initially providing you with the right to receive meaningful compensation.
To speak to us about your defective product claim, please contact Chadwick & Chadwick, a Tampa Bay area defective products attorney, representing clients in Pinellas, Pasco, Hernando and Hillsborough counties in central Florida.
