A Worcester product liability lawyer can either prosecute or defend a company that’s being accused of creating a harmful product.

Product Liability refers to the legal responsibility that a manufacturer has to take for putting a defective product into the market for customers to use. If you purchased a product and it caused you harm because it had a defect, you have the right to hire a product liability lawyer near you in Worcester to take legal action on your behalf.

However, you have to understand if you have a product liability case in the first place before you can proceed with your case.

How to Prove a Product Was Defective

To make a defective product claim, you must Prove these four elements:

1. You Were Using it as the Manufacturer Intended

You might not have a case, for example, if you bought a pair of paper scissors, decided to trim your bushes with it and in the process, one of the blades snapped and pierced your eye. As per the manufacturer’s instructions, the scissors were meant for cutting paper but you used them for other purposes.

2. The Product Was Defective

You must show that the product had a design or manufacturing defect.

3. You Were Injured By the Defective Product

You must show that as a result of using the product, you suffered injuries and other types of damages.

4. The Product’s Defect Caused You Harm

Let’s say you bought an iron skillet with defective heatproof handles but as you were using it, you accidentally knocked the skillet off the stove and it fell and broke your foot. It would be impossible to directly link the product’s defect to the cause of your injuries.

However, if you grabbed the hot iron skillet by the handles, your hands got burned and you dropped the skillet which broke your foot, then your product liability lawyer in Worcester would be able to draw a firm connection between the iron skillet’s defective heatproof handles and your injuries.

• What Kinds of Defective Products Can Harm You?

How Long Does it Take to Settle a Product Liability Lawsuit?

Your product liability case might take three months or three years. It all depends on the specific facts of your case. Your case might resolve quickly depending on how strong the evidence is, the parties involved, the type of product liability suit, and the damages involved. However, your product liability lawyer in Worcester should give you a proper estimate of how long it would take for your case to resolve based on their experience with similar cases.

• How Will A Recall Affect Your Product Liability Case?

How to Prove Fault in a Product Liability Case

There is a myth that all you need to show in a product liability case is proof that there was a defect in the product.

Product liability lawsuits are expensive because you need to consult with specialized industry expert witnesses who can testify that the product’s defect is the direct cause of your injuries.

There are several ways that you can prove product liability and they include:

Negligence

In order to prove negligence you must prove:

1. The defendant owed you a duty of care
2. The defendant breached their duty of care
3. You were injured by their product
4. There is a direct link between the product’s defect and the cause of your injuries.

If any of the four cannot be proven, then you might not have a strong case. Unfortunately, in product liability cases, it’s difficult to prove that the defendant was negligent. This is why most cases will focus on strict liability.

• What Is Negligence In A Personal Injury Case?

Strict Liability

In strict liability, you only need to prove that the product had a defect and that defect caused the client injuries. You do not need to prove fault or negligence. You can, therefore, hold all parties in the distribution chain liable as long as they took part in distributing the product.

Deceit

In some cases, the manufacturer relayed false information about the product to the customer and as a result, the customer got injured.

Breach of Warranty

You must prove that even though the manufacturer promised that the product was free of defects, they failed to ensure that it had no defects. Unlike strict liability, the manufacturer in this case breached a warranty contract.

Do You Need a Worcester Product Liability Lawyer?

The answer is yes. Consulting with a Worcester product liability lawyer will give you insight into how strong your case is. The same applies if you are being sued by someone for product liability.