DEFECTIVE PRODUCTS LIABILITY LAW MONTANA

In a legal context, Product Liability Law covers the manufacturer or trader’s main duty to protect its consumers from possible hazards of a product they produce or sell. In the US, the law of product liability only transpired as a result of cases in the civil court being prosecuted in the state based from theories of breech of warranty, negligence and strict liability.

How do I establish liability for a defective product?

For one person to claim product liability, the product should be known to be sold in the market first, and you have to proove that same product had defects that caused you injuries and quantifiable damages. However, concrete evidence should support your claims as having the fact that you used the product when you were injured is not strong enough. You have to back it up with a solid proof that no injuries will occur if there are no defects in the product, and you have been using the product in an intended or reasonably foreseeable way.

Who can be responsible from a product liability case?

If you have been inconvenienced with injuries from a product that you thought is safe, you can sue anyone may it be a person or entity, that is part of the distribution chain. This means that any person behind the creation, distribution, and even those who sell the product in the market can be held liable from the damages.

Types of Product Defects that create Liability

• Design
  Defects in the design happens before it is manufactured. While given that the product is functional, the flaw might be coming from different factors that are present (substandard parts, low quality product components that are included in the product, etc) causing it to inherently unsafe. One particular example of a product design that went wrong was the hoverboard self balancing scooter. Being the best holiday present in back in 2015, high quality models can cost more than $1,000 that’s why several companies created a cheaper versions by using substandard parts, and accessories most especially the battery. These quality issues resulted the product to burst into flames when repeatedly bumped, and user to catch fire.
• Manufacturing
  When a defect happened while a product is being assembled, constructed, or produced, then that is considered to be a manufacturing defect. Regardless if the manufacturer had been very cautious with the product design, development, and strict quality assurance guidelines, a poorly manufactured product can still be subject for litigation. Though manufacturing defects mostly occur in product sales, service industry is not excuse for any possible liabilities. One particular example was the McDonald’s coffee case where a seventy-nine year old woman named Stella Liebeck had sustained third degree burns on 6% of her body, and other burns on 16% on her other body parts after her coffee she ordered in Mcdonald’s spilled over upon opening the lid in between her thighs. With no cupholders, the coffee being served in Mcdonalds is found to be 45°F to 55°F hotter than the coffee brewed at home. With the injuries that Stella acquired, she filed a case against Mcdonald’s which resulted to $2.7million settlement.
• Marketing
  Improper labeling, Inadequate safety or hazard precautions, incomplete specifications and instructions, are just some of the known marketing defects of a product. It is always the responsibility of the marketer to not only warn the user of the known potential risk of the product, but also to keep the public aware of the hazardous uses for which the product was not intended. One example is failure of a pharmaceutical company to make the public informed that the supplements that they are marketing are not intended to replace the medication or treatment to cure a particular disease. This can ground to a serious offense when injuries happened to an uninformed or misinformed consumer.

It’s important to consult an experienced Billings product liability attorney as soon as possible after you have been injured by a product. By immediately investigating your claim and preserving crucial evidence while it is still fresh, your attorneys have an advantage when it comes to proving your case. It’s also important to file within the statute of limitations: under Montana law, you must bring your claim within a set period of time after the injury was or should have been discovered, or you will lose your right to sue.

As an an advocate of product safety, and ally to those who seek justice from product liability, Joe Frick Law, PLLC provides a skilled legal representation to any case involving negligence on product design, manufacturing and marketing. May it be injuries by a defective medical device, automotive part, household cleaning product, industrial machinery and equipment, or contaminated food, we will work to hold the responsible party accountable for the harm you’ve suffered. We have the resources and skills to challenge even the largest companies when their products injure our clients. With assistance from qualified medical and engineering professionals, our attorneys thoroughly investigate each case to develop the most effective strategies. Contact us now at 406-272-4493 or schedule a free consultation online at our Billings office.