INJURED BY A

DEFECTIVE PRODUCT

When you purchase a product, you expect it to work as advertised. When the product malfunctions and causes you harm, the person responsible for the error should be held accountable and should reimburse you for your damages. This is the law of products liability.

TYPES OF PRODUCTS LIABILITY

A product must meet a customer's "ordinary expectations," which simply means it must not be unexpectedly defective or dangerous. The claims that may be brought in a products liability action are rooted in South Carolina (1) negligence, (2) breach of warranty, and (3) defective product laws.

Negligence is when the seller or manufacture owes a duty to do or not do something and, when the manufacturer fails at this duty, the consumer is harmed. Breach of warranty is exactly what it sounds like: the manufacture "warranted" that the product was safe for its intended use, but then breached this duty resulting in a consumer being injured when attempting the intended use (e.g., a firework explodes sideways and injures bystanders). A defective product falls within one of three categories:

1. Design Defect: the product's actual design is defective and causes injuries (e.g., a motor explodes on a boat in Lake Greenwood and injures the boat's occupants).

2. Manufacturing Defect: during manufacturing, an error occurs that results in harm during a consumer's use of the item (e.g., a carbon monoxide detector was manufactured without a working tone, and a Fairfield resident dies in her sleep from CO poisoning).

3. Marketing Defects: this occurs when the item is marketed with improper labeling, insufficient instructions, or inadequate safety label (e.g., a Columbia resident suffers a severe skin burn after using a medication that had improper warnings).

COMMON PRODUCT MALFUNCTIONS

Airbag malfunctions
Firework injuries
Seatbelt malfunctions
Chemical or solution burns
Machinery failures
Medication side effects

I'VE BEEN INJURED BY A PRODUCT:

WHAT IS MY NEXT STEP