Product Liability
Under the Consumer Act of 1987, you are allowed to make a product liability claim against the manufacturer of a faulty product that can be shown to have caused you personal injury. This covers a wide range of products; from cars to hip replacement joints and from toys to cosmetics.
This Act was made to give consumers recourse to justice against manufacturers who were producing dangerous goods. It has been successful in this, with thousands of people in the UK having made successful product liability claims in the years since the Consumer Act was introduced.
The four main ways in which a manufacturer can be found to be at fault in a product liability claim are:
- Manufacturing
If contamination has occurred in a factory or a batch of products has been damaged during the manufacturing process and the quality control procedure has not identified this and you have suffered injury as a result, the manufacturer is likely to be liable. - Design
If a product is poorly designed, such as a toy that has very sharp edges or a kettle that allows steam to escape around the handle, and you have sustained an injury as a result, you can make a product liability claim against the manufacturer. - Warnings
If a manufacturer fails to exhibit sufficient warnings on a product that is inherently dangerous, such as an electrical appliance, or a salesman has downplayed the warnings on such an item, then the company may well be found to be liable if you are injured as a result. - Failure to recall / announce warnings
If a manufacturer discovers a problem with a product that could cause personal injury and fails to announce warnings about the product and injury occurs as a result, a product liability claim could well be successful, if you are injured by the product.
It is particularly important that the solicitor you choose to represent you has specialist knowledge of product liability law because this type of personal injury case can sometimes be extremely complex.