You may be entitled to compensation if you have suffered severe injuries caused by a product malfunction or defect. Claims like these are often complicated, so working with a dedicated Las Vegas product liability lawyer at H&P Law may be in your best interests. With multiple parties potentially sharing liability for the accident, it is crucial to identify all parties who may be at fault for your damages.
A highly qualified Las Vegas personal injury lawyer will thoroughly investigate the cause of your accident. With more than 60 years of combined experience, our team works to identify all responsible parties and pursue compensation for your losses. We advocate for you when companies try to avoid taking responsibility, so you are not left without options.
Explaining Strict Product Liability
Product liability cases have a distinguishing characteristic. The plaintiffs, through their product liability attorneys, do not have to demonstrate any degree of fault. This is called strict product liability. In other words, in a product liability case, the designer or manufacturer of a defective product is liable for injuries caused by the defective product, no matter how careful they were to make the safest products.
In a product liability case, fault is irrelevant. Instead, if the defendant is in the chain of distribution, they make money off the product. The designer, manufacturer, distributor, wholesaler, retailer, and other third parties could be liable for injuries caused by a product proven to be defective.
While this means that you do have a right to recovery, it doesn’t necessarily mean that obtaining compensation is easy. As a result, we encourage you to seek the help of an experienced product liability lawyer in Las Vegas who knows how to hold manufacturers accountable.
Who Can’t Be Strictly Liable for Injuries Resulting from Unsafe Products
Anyone not in the chain of distribution cannot be strictly liable for injuries resulting from unsafe products. That means you cannot be held liable if you buy an unsafe product and then loan it to your friend.
But the store you bought it from still can, as long as your friend is a foreseeable user of the product. For instance, it is foreseeable that you would let your friend use your lawnmower, but not foreseeable that you would let your friend’s kid use your bulldozer. Talk to the team at H&P Law today about your case.
Understanding Nevada’s Product Liability Laws and What They Mean for Consumers
Nevada’s product liability laws are grouped together in NRS: Chapter 695E. In these laws, Nevada defines the scope of product liability to include physical, emotional, and/or property damages caused by “manufacture, design, importation, distribution, packaging, labeling, or lesser sale of a product. ”This definition creates a broad category in which accidents can occur, and parties can be held liable.
There is a considerable expectation that manufacturers and every party involved in the chain of distribution exercise the utmost care when executing their job duties. Nevada’s product liability laws set the bar for what’s expected and what guardrails are put in place to protect the public.
Because strict liability applies to these cases, this often makes it easier for victims of defective products to recover their losses because they don’t have to demonstrate fault. Instead, they only have to show that the product was faulty and resulted in harm.
Product Liability Statistics
Designers, manufacturers, and vendors can all be held responsible for dangerous products with the help of a product liability attorney. Billions of products enter the market every year, and countless preventable injuries occur due to consumer products.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s (CPSC) most recent annual report estimates that more than 14 million emergency room visits were due to consumer products. The report also goes on to demonstrate that the cost of emergency care can range anywhere from $17,705 to $1,023,779, depending on the product type involved in the accident.
These accidents can have profound physical and financial ramifications for victims, as evidenced by the data above. Most of those who’ve been hurt in such a manner do not realize that someone else may be responsible. But your product liability lawyer will. We will stop at nothing to identify those responsible so you can get the most out of your claim.
Types of Product Liability Cases in Las Vegas
There are generally three types of Nevada products liability claims for defective products: manufacturing defects, design defects, and failure to warn. All of these fall under premises liability law. If a product causes you harm, you should consult a product liability attorney who works at a product liability law firm.
Nevada personal injury laws make it clear that if a product manufacturer or distributor knows of a risk, they should warn of it or avoid it. However, it is very common for mistakes, errors, and oversights to happen, and consumers unfortunately suffer the consequences. Under these laws, victims who can demonstrate their losses can file a claim for the damages they suffered from the at-fault party.
Notably, the state has a strict liability, which does not require that fault be established in all cases. Rather, the manufacturer could be held strictly liable if a product is defective and causes injuries as a result of that defect, even if they were not negligent in causing it.
Understanding the Dangers of Manufacturing Defects
A knowledgeable Las Vegas product liability attorney will tell you that manufacturing defects result from an error in the manufacturing process. This may include using poor-quality materials or shoddy workmanship. When product liability cases result from manufacturing flaws, only part of the product line is defective because it departs from the intended design in some way that makes the product dangerous.
Examples of a manufacturing defect include a component with a missing part, the wrong part being installed, or the right part being installed incorrectly. As such, these flaws can endanger consumers by threatening their safety and ability to use a product. Manufacturing defects can occur in a variety of products and cause various degrees of harm.
Design Defects Can Have Profound Implications
Design defects, by contrast, predate the manufacturing process and result in an inherently dangerous or useless product, even with high-caliber product manufacturing. Design defects are designed poorly as opposed to being put together poorly. In a product liability lawsuit for a design defect, every product with a certain design is defective, not just some of them.
Design defect examples include airbags or phones that explode, heating blankets that spontaneously combust, and SUVs that roll over when cornering. Design flaws undermine the fundamental integrity of a product and can be detrimental to unsuspecting consumers. These defects put a wider portion of the public at risk, given the inherent problems in the makeup and structure of a product.
Failure-to-Warn Cases Pose Unique Dangers
Failure-to-warn cases relate to products that have non-obvious dangers. The issue is that the products don’t come with adequate warnings that, if included, could prevent all or some of the danger. These cases don’t require the product to have a flaw in the design or manufacturing process. Instead, the products are inherently dangerous and lack warnings about potential dangers and correct uses.
Examples of failure to warn include medical labels that don’t have directions on dosages or side effects, potential conditions or dangers when using chemicals or machinery, and so much more. Warnings are essential for the safety of users and ensuring products are used as intended. Without these warnings, consumers are exposed to avoidable risks.
Defective Products Have a Significant Impact on the Public
Defective products have a significant impact on the public in many ways. These products can cause severe injuries or even death. In turn, this creates a weighty financial burden for consumers who have to deal with expensive medical bills and reduced income if they can’t work. Some injuries and losses caused by defective products can also take a toll on an individual’s emotional and mental health.
Defective products also affect manufacturers and sellers. Not only are they liable, but it can damage their public reputation when consumers sustain injuries because of their products. This can also be quite costly for manufacturers as they deal with settlement payouts, recalls, and additional production costs.
Consumers who have been affected by a defective product should be aware of the five mistakes to avoid when filing a product liability claim so they can get the resources they need and lessen the impact of a defective product. Lawyers can provide guidance and protection to help your claim go smoothly and avoid issues that could hurt your claim.
Establishing Liability in a Negligence-Based Claim
Some defective products are the result of negligence. In these situations, claims are based on negligence rather than strict liability. When it comes to product defect claims and manufacturer negligence, victims must demonstrate that the manufacturer was at fault. This is where having the help of a skilled lawyer is incredibly important.
To establish a manufacturer’s liability, you will need plenty of evidence to show their role in creating the defective product, what was wrong with the product, and what you suffered as a result. Your lawyer will use this evidence to establish the manufacturer’s duty of care to you, their breach of duty, how they caused your injuries, and what damages they must pay for.
Some common ways that manufacturers may exhibit negligence include using poor materials, failing to check the product’s quality or safety, or failing to train workers properly. When this happens, negligence claims can be filed against the manufacturer. Talk to a lawyer after you’ve been injured to determine if you have a strict liability or negligence claim.
A Product Liability Attorney in Las Vegas Helps Recover Compensation for Victims
Injury victims should be reimbursed for every single loss they experience and the ways their lives have been affected by the accident. Your product liability lawyer in Las Vegas will closely calculate your damages to ensure you receive fair compensation. It is up to you, the victim, to show what your losses are and that product liability applies in your case.
To do this, our Las Vegas product liability lawyer will gather evidence to support your claim, such as photos or video of what occurred, evidence of the manufacturing defect, or the lack of warnings. We will research the circumstances of your situation in an effort to prove product liability without any question.
Once we do that, we can then build your claim, which could include far more than you may expect. If you were hurt in a product liability accident, we strongly recommend working with our legal team to explore all potential losses you have. Here are some of the most frequently awarded types of damages in product liability insurance and civil claims.
Victims May Be Able to Receive Both Economic and Non-Economic Damages
Economic damages and non-economic damages collectively include your financially based losses and the ways your life has been affected by your injuries and the accident that caused them. Economic damages are monetary, and non-economic damages account for every other loss. Some examples of what damages can be recovered in a personal injury case involving defective products could include:
- Loss of household services
- Lost wages
- Pain and suffering
- Indignity and embarrassment
- Permanent disability
- Diminished earning potential
- Emotional distress
- Disfigurement and skin scarring
- Loss of consortium
- Reduced quality of life
The recoverable damages in your product liability claim are comprehensive, meaning that if you can demonstrate your injuries and losses are due to the negligence of others, you can seek compensation for them. Recoverable damages can be hard to show in some cases, which is why it is so important to work with a skilled legal team capable of helping you.
Loss of Life Claims in a Product Liability Case
In some tragic situations, people lose their lives due to the negligence or liability of a manufacturer. If this has happened to your loved one, seek the guidance of a highly skilled legal team that will work aggressively to help you get justice.
You may be owed compensation for financial losses, including funeral expenses, burial costs, and end-of-life medical care. Do not settle a claim like this, as it could mean putting your future on the line. Let our Las Vegas wrongful death lawyer help you instead.
Get Help from H&P Law Today
Product-defect cases are complicated because no two products and no two defects are alike. Defective product cases often involve multiple parties, experts, and tens of thousands of documents. Manufacturers and vendors tend to be high-dollar corporations that retain sophisticated attorneys to defend them.
If a defective product has injured you, you need a fearless and detail-oriented product liability attorney who can advocate on your behalf. H&P Law is here to protect your rights. Contact our Las Vegas product liability lawyer by phone or through our quick contact form for a 100% free consultation.
