Fayetteville, AR Product Liability Attorney
Have you or a loved one been injured by a product you purchased? Have you suffered physically and emotionally and incurred extensive medical bills? Unfortunately, products with harmful defects make it onto store shelves every day, injuring innocent consumers like you.
Injuries from defective products could range from a scratch to wrongful death. No matter the severity of an injury, whoever is hurt because of a defective product could be entitled to seek financial compensation through a personal injury lawsuit. Our Fayetteville, AR product liability attorney understands the complexities and hurdles associated with holding manufacturers responsible for the harm they caused. Call Ken Keiklak, Attorney at Law, at (479) 316-0438 to schedule a free consultation.
Understanding Product Liability Claims in Fayetteville, Arkansas
You are not alone in your fight against large manufacturing companies. The Law Practice of Ken Kieklak is here to help. Experienced in negotiating and litigating product liability claims, we will advocate for you and your family by taking the following actions:
- Explaining the product liability litigation process to you and your family;
- Collecting the appropriate paperwork from your treating physicians;
- Collecting the appropriate paperwork from your employer about how the injury is impacting your employment;
- Requesting information about product safety testing and other data from the manufacturing company;
- Hiring an expert witness who can give an opinion to the jury and explain why the product is defective and dangerous;
- Negotiating with the manufacturing company and their insurance agency; and
- Trying your case in front of a jury of your peers if negotiations do not meet your satisfaction.
If you want an experienced product liability attorney who will listen to your needs and advocate for you, contact the Law Practice of Ken Kieklak with your product liability needs. Remember, we do not get paid until you do.
Common Grounds for a Product Liability Claim in Fayetteville, AR
When people purchase a product, they anticipate that it will function as intended. If a vacuum does not work, it can usually be returned and replaced. Unfortunately, sometimes when a product malfunctions, it results in an injury. For example, if your airbag deploys unexpectedly, you could be hurt and involved in a car accident. Product liability lawsuits arise from some common problems.
Manufacturing Defects
Manufacturing defects occur at the time a product is built or assembled. A mistake in the assembly process could result in an ordinarily harmless product becoming dangerous. Fortunately, manufacturing defects only affect a small percentage of products that reach the consumer. However, a small percentage of defective products does not mean a manufacturer should not be held accountable.
Under the theory of strict liability, a manufacturer is liable for any defects that occur during the assembly, construction, or building of a product. This liability exists even when the manufacturer exercised reasonable care during the manufacturing process. To prevail in a product liability lawsuit based on a manufacturing defect, an injury plaintiff only has to prove that the product was defective when it left the factory where it was produced.
Design Defect
Design defects occur when there is a flaw in the original blueprint or design of the product. Unlike a manufacturing defect, a design defect is not an anomaly or assembly error. When a design defect is present, it impacts every unit that the manufacturer produces. For example, if an airbag system has a flaw in its design, every consumer in a vehicle with that particular airbag installed could be injured.
Our Fayetteville personal injury lawyer will have to ask three questions to determine if a design defect was present.
- Was the design unreasonably dangerous before the product was produced?
- Was it reasonable to believe or should have been known that the product’s design could potentially harm the user?
- Could the product been designed safer and in a way that was both economically feasible and would not alter the product’s purpose?
If only one of these conditions is determined to have existed, then an injured individual could have the basis of a product liability claim.
Failure to Warn
Some products pose an unavoidable risk. Cleaning products can result in harm if used incorrectly or ingested. This hazard will exist without a manufacturing error or a design flaw. A product liability claim could also be brought when a manufacturer fails to warn consumers of a product’s potential risks. Additionally, any party in the chain of distribution could be held liable if a warning label or instructions could have prevented a foreseeable injury.
To determine if a warning label was adequate, our Fayetteville product liability attorney will consider a number of factors.
- Is the product likely to cause harm?
- Was the consumer using the product as intended?
- How severe is the injury?
- Did the consumer understand the risk? Warning labels are related to the expertise and complexity of the product.
- Did the warning label rely on the knowledge and experience of the consumer?
- Was the label clear, concise, and easy to understand?
Cases based upon a failure to warn can be challenging, so it is crucial to have an experienced Arkansas product liability attorney working at your side.
Types of Product Liability Lawsuits in Fayetteville, AR
Product liability lawsuits typically come in three types of cases.
Negligence
Most personal injury lawsuits are based on negligence. When a product liability claim arises from negligent conduct, a plaintiff must demonstrate that defendant was careless in either the design or manufacture of the product.
Proving negligence requires a plaintiff to show that the defendant had a duty to sell a safe product, violated that duty, and the product caused the injury.
Some examples of negligent conduct include failing to review design plans, not maintaining the machinery responsible for producing or assembling the product, failing to test the product, and rushing a potentially dangerous product to consumers.
Strict Liability
In most product liability cases, an injured consumer can pursue their claim under the theory of strict liability. Under strict liability, an injured plaintiff is only required to demonstrate that a defect existed and their injury resulted from using the product. If a plaintiff can show that there was a defect, a manufacturer could be held accountable whether or not they exercised reasonable caution throughout the manufacturing process. It is important to note that to file a claim based on strict liability, the product must have been purchased through the distribution chain. If you bought or acquired a product second-hand, the manufacturer is not subject to strict liability.
Breach of Warranty
When a product is sold, there are two warranties that the consumer relies on: an expressed and an implied warranty.
An express warranty is any representation made about the product’s safety made by either the manufacturer or retailer. The implied warrant is similar but it is not explicitly stated. A manufacturer, or another potentially liable party, makes an implied promise that a product that is used as intended will not cause any injury. A breach of warranty claim covers any individual who would be reasonably expected to use the product.
What Types of Products Can Be Involved in a Product Liability Lawsuit?
Essentially anything a consumer can purchase can be involved in a product liability lawsuit. Common examples of goods that become the subject of product liability litigation include, but are not limited to the following:
- Home Appliances;
- Children’s Toys;
- Recreational Products, such as tents, climbing equipment, or ATVs;
- Construction Equipment;
- Motor Vehicles; and
- Many more.
Are Products Required to Be Tested Before They Reach the Selves for Consumer Purchase?
Yes, products do have to be tested before they hit the consumer market. However, the reality is with more and more products being imported from overseas, it’s difficult to test each one efficiently and ensure it complies with the United States’ consumer standards.
You should not be the victim of inadequate testing and warning labels. Don’t let yourself or a loved one become another number. Contact the Law Practice of Ken Kieklak for help today.
What to Expect in Fayetteville, AR Product Liability Lawsuit
Similar to any type of lawsuit, the process of litigating a product liability claim can be quite complicated and involve the following stages:
- Obtaining enough information to file the lawsuit;
- Sending discovery requests to the manufacturing company regarding the testing and manufacturing of the product;
- Answering the discovery requests from the manufacturing company and producing the medical and employment records;
- Hiring an expert witness who can give an opinion to the jury and explain why the product is defective and dangerous;
- Negotiating with the manufacturing company and its insurance agency; and
- Trying the case in front of a jury if negotiations do not prove satisfactory.
This process is intimidating and overwhelming. For this reason, you need to hire an experienced product liability lawyer who not only advocates for his clients in the courtroom but who also listens to them and gets to know them on a personal level.
Call Our Fayetteville, AR Product Liability Attorneys for a Free Consultation
When you purchase a product, you expect it to work as intended. When a product malfunctions, has a defect, or otherwise causes an unexpected injury, you have legal rights. Our Fayetteville, AR product liability lawyers are dedicated to helping injured consumers fight for the compensation they deserve. If you were harmed by a defective product, call Ken Kieklak, Attorney at Law, at (479) 316-0438 to schedule a free appointment.