Miami Product Liability Lawyers

What is product liability?

Companies that design and manufacture goods have a responsibility to make sure that their goods and services adhere to established principles of safety and quality. When you purchase a defective product, not only can you feel cheated out of your hard-earned money, but the cost of an injury can place a substantial financial burden on you and your family.

Manufacturers and designers have a legal obligation to ensure that products are designed correctly, that they have passed quality control tests, that no dangerous or defective products enter the market, and, if necessary, that each product has a warning label that is easy to locate and understand. Product liability cases typically fall into one of the following categories:

• Design defect. If a product is inherently dangerous, regardless of whether it’s being used properly, then it has a design defect. Examples of a design defect would be a car that rolls over at relatively low speeds or an all-terrain forklift that, when it rolls over, fails to protect the operator from injury.
• Manufacturing defect. A product may have a manufacturing defect if the product differs from the original design because of the manufacturing process, or if the materials used or methods of construction weakened the product in some manner. The use of improper materials or poor quality control standards can cause manufacturing defects.
• Failure to warn or instruct. If a product can injure or harm someone as a result of being used for its intended function, or in a manner that the manufacturer or designer should have foreseen, the manufacturer or designer is responsible for warning the consumer of such risks. If a ladder manufacturer fails to warn consumers about the risks of using the top step, for example, they may be considered liable for any injuries that occur as a result.

Florida law defines a products liability action as “A civil action based upon a theory of strict liability, negligence, breach of warranty, nuisance, or similar theories for damages caused by the manufacture, construction, design, formulation, installation, preparation, or assembly of a product.”

Strict liability means that if the product was defective at the time of the accident, and the accident was the proximate cause of your injuries, you should have a valid claim – without the need to prove fault.

Negligence means that the manufacturer or other entity involved in making, selling, or repairing the product owed you a duty of care, that they breached that duty of care by acting carelessly or irresponsibly, and the breach was the proximate cause of your injuries.

Many products such as cars and equipment are sold with express or implied warranties that the products will be safe for use. When the companies that make these warranties breach their warranties, they can be held liable for any injuries proximately caused by the breach of warranty.