Defective Products can Result in Wrongful Death Cases

Every day we use a wide variety of products and trust the manufacturers’ guarantee that their products are safe and will not cause injuries or fatalities. Sadly there are times when the guarantee fails due to many factors and the unthinkable happens. If a death occurs because of the defective product, the survivors can file a wrongful death or negligence case.

Causes of Wrongful Death

• Manufacturing Defects: During the process of manufacturing the product a flaw or oversight could make the product dangerous and defective. These flaws can include oversights on the manufacturing floor or the use of inferior products or ingredients.
• Design Defects: Even if the product is manufactured well with quality materials, if the original design is flawed, the final result will be defective.
• Inadequate Instructions or Warnings: a product liability claim can be filed against the manufacturer or the distributor for not providing appropriate use guidelines or warnings about potentially harmful features that are not obvious.

Types of Defective Products

These are just a few examples of products that can cause a lot of harm or even death when they are defective.

• Electrical products like space heaters, electric blankets, night lights, and hair dryers can cause burns and fires.
• Propane tanks, kerosene heaters, stoves can all cause fires or explosions.
• Many medical products like defibrillators, pacemakers, hip replacements, and medications can be defective resulting in pain or even death.

Multiple Parties Liable

Under product liability law, multiple parties can be held responsible in a wrongful death case.

• Manufacturer: The liability may have started with the design.
• Assembly: The parts may have been designed correctly but put together badly.
• Distribution: The party selling the products to the consumer may have labeled them incorrectly.

Surviving members of a wrongful death caused by negligence or defective products may be eligible to file a claim again each of the parties listed above for medical expenses, funeral expense, loss of companionship and more. If your loved one was the victim of negligence or a defective product, you have two years to file a claim, and it is helpful to have a product liability lawyer on your side.