You expect the products you purchase to work correctly, but that is not always the case. When a company makes a defective product, there is the chance that it may cause injuries to consumers.
When a defective product causes an injury, you may have a product liability case in place to help an injured party receive compensation. However, there are essential factors to understand to move forward with a successful claim.
Examining potential cases
Defective products may arise from three primary sources. It may be a defect caused during the manufacturing phase, design phase or marketing phase. While the first two defects result from errors in the product’s structure, a marketing defect is when a product’s advertisement failed to have accurate safety warnings.
Understanding strict liability
Tennessee recognizes strict liability. This means that you do not need to prove that a manufacturer was negligent to hold the company responsible.
This law holds manufacturers responsible for their products. To successfully prove your case, focus your claim on how the product was defective since it came on the market, how the product was not misused and how the product directly caused your injury.
Proving your case
It is important to note that the strict liability law only applies to companies that sell or rent products directly to consumers. If you bought your defective product from a thrift shop or garage sale, your case may not be eligible for strict liability.
To prove your case, you also need to show that you were unaware of a product defect while using it. If you continued using a defective product and later sustained your injury, the manufacturer may use this in their defense.
Knowing the deadline
There is a statute of repose for when you may file a claim against a company. By Tennessee law, you need to file a claim within 10 years from the date a company released a product to the public.
