You find yourself injured, whether from something you own or that someone else does. It may be bad and affect your ability to earn a living. It’s time for a lawsuit.
This leaves you wondering who can bring a products liability lawsuit to court. That would be a product liability attorney. But what is the whole process?
Who Can Sue
The defective item in question has to have been sold out on the marketplace. It used to be that the plaintiff had to be the one who bought the particular item from from the defendant. That is not the case anymore.
So if someone was driving a friend’s car and got into an accident and the airbag didn’t deploy or the ignition caught on fire, they could sue even if they were not the owner of the car. The defendant, though, could be any of a number of people or companies, ranging from the place that made the item to the one that installed a certain part or even the store that sold it. The product liability attorney will know who to bring the case against.
Where Does the Burden of Proof Fall?
This is when the burden actually may fall on the defendant, since they have to prove that they did not know of any possible danger. There is a Latin term, “res ipsa loquitur” which means “the thing speaks for itself.” This points towards negligence.
There’s also something called strict liability. In this case, the plaintiff has to prove the item was defective and not that there was negligence.
Is There a Way to Cover Themselves?
Drug companies like to point to “Unavoidably Unsafe” products, which means that no matter what they do, there may be certain side effects. That’s why there are so many things listed in ads and television commercials: “Side effects may include…”
The people who are bringing the product liability suit must be able to connect the defendant with the issue. Otherwise they risk losing the case. If it turns out they sued a manufacturer but it was actually an installer that was behind it, then that would turn the case to the defendant.
When it comes to cases like this, they tend to be very complex. You need to talk to a product liability attorney to see what you have and whether you are going to be able to successfully fight this in the courtroom. If they take your case, they will be your best ally.