When you buy a product, you expect it to perform safely under reasonable conditions. Yet, thousands of people are injured every year from accidents caused by unsafe consumer items.
Product liability law holds manufacturers, distributors, and retailers liable when a defective product causes an injury. This area of law can be quite complex, and proving an item is defective requires a skillful personal injury attorney with a network of qualified experts.
The Williamsville defective products lawyers at Richmond Vona, LLC have the knowledge and experience to pursue your case effectively and increase the chances of attaining the best possible legal outcome. Let our team help you seek what you need to recover for your losses.
Click to jump to any topic on this page:
Product Liability Arises in Many Contexts
Americans use hundreds of products every day. Whenever an accident occurs, and a consumer item has a role in resulting injuries, a product liability lawsuit may be filed.
Almost any defective product can cause an injury. Some well-known examples include:
A Williamsville attorney can investigate whether defective product failure was the cause of an accident, illness, or injury.
Proving a Product is Defective
A manufacturer is strictly liable for an injured person’s damages if the product they sold is defective. Strict liability means the injured person is not required to show that the manufacturer knowingly did anything wrong. They only have to establish that the product was defective in one of three ways.
Design Defect
This type of defect occurs when a product’s design renders it unreasonably dangerous.
Manufacturing Defect
A manufacturing defect refers to a problem during the production of an item that caused one or more batches of the product to be defective.
Labeling Defect
Labeling defects describe a scenario in which an item’s label did not provide adequate warnings of potential hazards or proper instructions for the safe use of the product.
Sometimes multiple people might have suffered harm from the same product. In these instances, courts will often consolidate such cases into a mass tort, also called multi-district litigation (MDL). The injured parties combine resources to prove the product was defective, and then each injured party proves their damages. A Williamsville attorney can advise individuals whether any mass tort actions involving the defective product that caused their injuries are ongoing.
Potential Defenses to Product Liability
There are several defenses a manufacturer can raise to avoid liability in a defective product case. One that is often employed is the statute of limitations defense. New York Civil Practice Law and Rules § 214 allows an injured person three years from the date of the accident to file a lawsuit in most cases. A person who misses that deadline loses the right to take the manufacturer to court.
Additionally, a manufacturer would not be liable if the product was past its useful life when it malfunctioned and caused an injury. Alterations to an item that place it in a substantially different condition than when it left the factory could also result in the manufacturer escaping liability.
Sometimes a manufacturer will claim the injured person was not using the product according to instructions. However, it is not necessary that a consumer use the product exactly as directed; only that they use it in a way the manufacturer should have anticipated. A Williamsville defective product attorney can help refute these potential defenses to leave no doubt about who is at fault.
Trust a Williamsville Defective Product Attorney to Handle Your Claim
When a malfunctioning product causes you unreasonable harm, the manufacturer should pay the costs of your injuries and losses. A Williamsville defective products lawyer understands how to hold big corporations accountable.
Your time to take legal action is short, so do not delay. Reach out to Richmond Vona, LLC today to speak with one of our capable attorneys.
With over 25 years of combined personal injury experience, our co-founding attorneys, John E. Richmond and Keith R. Vona, have helped injury victims and their family members recover more than $150 million in financial relief.
John E. Richmond
Co-Founding Member
As one of New York’s top personal injury attorneys, John E. Richmond understands that clients come first. With over a decade of experience representing plaintiffs, he knows how to hold negligent corporations and big insurance companies liable.
In his nearly 15 years in practice, Keith has been consistently recognized for his client service and record of results. He has been selected for inclusion in the New York Super Lawyers® Rising Stars list four times (2013 to 2016), an honor reserved for the top up-and-coming attorneys.
