What Is Product Liability?
One of the most interesting aspects of the history of the United States is in regards to its overall labor and manufacturing output over the its long, 200-plus year history. Towards the early years of the United States, we were known to be a country with an amazing manufacturing industry, known for its ability to create quality products and metals, plastics and much more. However, as the years have gone by, the US has moved from a manufacturer to a country that relies on other, cheaper, more labor-intensive countries for their goods, such as China, Bangladesh, India, and parts of South America. According to Mr. Charles Spinner, considered to be the best injury lawyer Zephyrhills has to offer, however, this reliance on far cheaper, foreign made goods and the lack of “MADE IN THE USA” pride, means that as the years go by, fewer and fewer products and goods can be expected to be made in our country. For many individuals who led the charge to foreign made goods decades ago, the main issue and hang-up was always the price, as American workers need a fair wage and have unions and representation that ensures there proper, safe labor and equal pay. Things like this and laws such as this barely exist in other countries, and therefore pricing gets lower and lower but there is a race to the bottom it seems – which has led much of the workforce to be sent overseas where there is more lax regulation. However, aside from just the lack of jobs, as per the best injury lawyer Zephyrhills has practicing, Mr. Charles Spinner, one of the biggest issues with such overseas work is that a handful of products or even full designs for products lead to defects – that can be both an issue to the quality and/or the appearance of the product, as well as the safety and regulatory standards of the product. However, because it came from foreign country illegally, there may be a lack of regulation for instance, in the plastics or flues used to affix them together, this may affect product liability law – according to Mr. Spinner, the best injury lawyer Tampa Bay has to offer, product liability law is the set of legal rules concerning who is responsible for defective or dangerous products that they are different from ordinary injury law. This set of rules sometimes makes it easier for an injured person to recover damages.
Product liability refers to a manufacturer or seller being held liable for placing a defective product into the hands of a consumer. All too often we are injured as a result of poor manufacturing by the at-fault party – this can often be the case when making fake, replica products – unfortunately these sellers and makers are difficult to find as they are already working and operating against the law. Responsibility for a product defect that causes injury lies with all sellers of the product who are in the distribution chain. In general terms, the law requires that a product meet the ordinary expectations of the consumer. When a product has an unexpected defect or danger, the product cannot be said to meet the ordinary expectations of the consumer. According to Mr. Spinner, the best injury lawyer Tampa Bay has to offer, one of the biggest issues that lawyers face is the fact that there is no federal product liability law in place – and therefore, product liability claims are based on state laws and brought under the theories of negligence, strict liability, or breach of warranty. In addition, a set of commercial statutes in each state, modeled on the Uniform Commercial Code, will contain warranty rules affecting product liability.
In order for your attorney to bring forth a product liability case, at some point the product must have been sold within the marketplace – however, historically, a contractual relationship, known as “privity of contract,” had to exist between the person injured by a product and the supplier of the product in order for the injured person to recover. In most states today, however, that requirement no longer exists, and the injured person does not have to be the purchaser of the product in order to recover. According to the best injury lawyer Tampa Bay has to offer, as long as the product was sold, any person who could have been injured by a defective product can recover for his or her injuries. As there is most products made in the United States or anywhere abroad, there is something known as the product’s chain of distribution – essentially meaning any place or party that the products came into contact with during the manufacturing or distribution process. These parties may include individuals like:
· The Manufacturers
· A manufacturer of any component parts or parts that are fully made separately.
· Any installation or assembly team.
· A product wholesaler – if it went through this intermediary step before getting to the principle retail store.
· Finally, the retail store who will then sell it to the end-user, or the consumer.
These steps are specifically subject only to the regular course of business – meaning the initial creation and distribution, and finally, sale or retail end. For instance if someone might have purchased a product from a store, then decides to sell it at their garage sale – they cannot be held liable for damages, only the initial sale process can be taken into account, and in many instances, according to the best injury lawyer Zephyrhills has in practice, the fact that the product was handled by another consumer and then sold second-hand, at a garage sale, can make assigning liability a bit difficult. For more information on product liability cases, be sure to contact Mr. Spinner today.
