Product Liability Lawsuits & Claims
A product defect alone doesn’t create manufacturer liability. Defective product liability claims are the result of being injured or suffering other damages because of a product you used. While the range of defective product cases is broad, the plaintiff (injured party) typically brings a product liability claim under three different theories including product manufacturing, product design defects, and failure to provide adequate warnings or instructions concerning the use of the product.
- Defective Manufactured Products: A manufacturing defect is a defect in a product that was not intended. This kind of defect occurs when a product departs from its intended design and is more dangerous than consumers expect the product to be.
- Defective Designed Products: A design defect occurs when the product is unreasonably dangerous despite being manufactured properly. Unlike manufacturing defects, the law cannot determine if a product is defective based on flaws in the manufacturing process or by comparison with properly manufactured products. In these cases, the entire line of products is manufactured uniformly and has the same defect
- Failure to Provide Adequate Warnings or Instructions: Failure to warn claims occurs when the product is manufactured and works properly but fails to instruct on the proper use of it.
Defective Product and Damages Lawsuits
If you are successful in a product liability claim, you may be able to recover up to four different types of damages:
- Compensatory damages to cover your economic loss caused by injury may include past and future medical expenses, time lost from work, and any property damage that was caused by the defective product.
- Pain and suffering damages as a result of your injury.
- Loss of consortium damages for the effect on your family and/or relationship with your spouse (similarly, a spouse may also recover damages for the same reason regardless of whether physically injured).
- Punitive damages are not technically meant to compensate the plaintiff for a specific loss, although the plaintiff is the one who ends up receiving punitive damages from the defendant. In Illinois, the amount of punitive damages assessed are often unpredictable which is the opposite for compensatory damages that tend to be precisely calculated.
Statute of Limitations for Filing a Product Liability Claim
The statute of limitations for filing a products liability claim is 2 years if based on personal injury, and 5 years if based on property damage. There is also a statute of repose for products liability lawsuits, which is the first to expire in either of the following time periods:
- 10 years from the date of first sale/lease/delivery of possession to the initial consumer/user; or
- 12 years from the date of first sale/lease/delivery of possession by a seller.
Get Free Legal Help for a Product Liability Injury
If you or a loved one have suffered an injury due to a defective product, speak with one of our experienced attorneys to ensure that your legal rights to compensation are fully assessed and protected.
Contact us today to get started with a confidential case assessment by calling 866-699-3339 or complete the case request form.