If you or someone you know has suffered some type of injury due to a product failure, you may have rights to file a claim against the manufacturer, the retailers, and anyone else associated with the chain of distribution of that product. There are four theories of liability that are most commonly used in a defective product case. They are:
Breach of Express Warranty
Products that come with a written warranty and fail to work is considered breaching the warranty. An express warranty is one that is written and states the information regarding the product. This warranty can be:
• Found on the products label or packaging
• In the instructions or other paperwork included with that product
• On signs or marketing material that are in the store where you can purchase the product
• In any form of advertising of that product
Any of these forms or representation of that product can be an expressed warranty.
For an example, if you purchase a weed eater to get rid of those pesky bamboo shrubs, just like the one you may have seen the advertisement for inside of a magazine that you were reading. You go to the hardware store and you purchase the weed eater that states its “Heavy Duty” so you know it should help to tackle the bamboo sticks. You take the weed eater home, begin to chop through those bamboo shoots and instead, the blade catches and flies off, slicing your fingers completely off as it goes by. Who would be at fault for this type of injury? The magazine? The store? The company that made the weed eater?
Breach of Implied Warranty
If the product you purchased did not come with some type of express warranty, or even if it did come with one, that product may be covered on what is known as an implied warranty. The defect may have violated the implied warranty.
This type of warranty is a law that is applied to products automatically. It will not guarantee anything by the manufacturer or the store where you purchased the product from but it does impose laws that will protect the consumer, whether the companies and manufacturers like it or not.
Strict Products Liability
A strict product liability is one of those liabilities that manufactures may not like but the consumers do. Here’s how it works:
If an accident happens, the company is held liable for the accident, as long as it is determined to be negligent. If you have been injured by a product, you should first hire a lawyer that can help you with this case. There are many companies that cannot afford to have an injury or claim filed and will do what they can to keep things out of court and out of the eye of the public. Your personal injury lawyer in Mississauga will consider your welfare and will work to get you the compensation you deserve.
