Product Defect

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Santa Cruz Product Defect Lawyer

We live in a society that embraces the free movement of goods and services. As a country of consumers, we have come to trust the safety of our products, much of it because of regulations that are put into place to protect us. But there are times when, despite those regulations, defective and harmful products make their way onto the market and cause injuries and, sometimes, even fatalities.

Products that are defective in their design, manufacturing, or marketing put thousands of people in danger each year, causing serious injuries. The companies that put these products into the market can be held liable under the law.

At Wave Law Firm, we are dedicated to holding companies accountable for the harm they cause others. We help protect consumers against injuries due to harmful products and we fight for their rights under the law. Products liability law can be complex, with many moving parts. If you have been harmed by a product, you owe it to yourself to speak to a Santa Cruz products liability lawyer to understand and protect your rights to compensation for your injuries. We represent clients all over California.

Products that Harm

Here in the United States, when we think of unsafe products, we tend to think of something that was produced elsewhere in the world and imported. But goods that are made right here can also pose a risk of causing harm, often because of a push to bring it quickly into a competitive market or the possibility of great profit. This puts unsuspecting consumers at risk.

These products span many different industries:

Medications and pharmaceuticals
Medical and surgical devices and equipment
Medical implants
Food and consumables
Motor vehicles
Boats and marine vessels
Marine engines and parts
Industrial and work equipment
Construction products
Household appliances
Tools
Children’s toys and products
Asbestos
Tobacco products
E-cigarettes and vape pens
Home and cleaning products

Whether you have been exposed to an unsafe product at home or at work, you may be able hold parties accountable for your injuries. Getting the advice of a Santa Cruz products liability attorney may be a good option to understand your rights under the law.

What Makes a Product Defective?

There are many points in a chain of production where a product defect can occur.

A design defect is one where the design and basic blueprint of a product causes a hazard. A design defect will affect the whole product line.
A manufacturing defect is one that is caused during the manufacturing of a product and will affect only a percentage of those products that were produced at that point of manufacturing or assembly.
A marketing defect, or failure to warn, is when the product is known to be at risk of harm but the company failed to market it with a warning against that harm to consumers who purchase it.

When determining where the defect occurred in the chain of production, a California products injury lawyer can help navigate a claim ensuring that an injured party is fairly compensated.

Who Can Be Held Liable For Dangerous Products?

There are many parties that go into a product’s journey from concept to the marketplace. Consequently, those different parties expose themselves when putting out dangerous and harmful products.

Depending on the circumstances of the claim, if an individual has been injured by a hazardous product, they may be able to hold different parties accountable for their injuries and damages. This is why a California products accident attorney will often include many different parties involved in the distribution chain in an injury claim, including:

The manufacturer, from the design to the production to the marketing of the product. Each step along the way, a manufacturer has the responsibility of putting a safe and defect-free product into the marketplace.
The retailer, in offering a product for sale, is implying that the product is safe for use even though it had no involvement in the creating or manufacturing of the product.
A wholesaler, as the conduit between the manufacturer and retailer, is also implying the safety of that product.

Any of these parties can be liable for injury damages caused by a defective product. It is the job of an experienced products accident lawyer in California to bring a claim against any party who may be held liable for their client’s injuries.

What Damages Can Be Recovered?

When a defective product has caused harm to a consumer, that consumer has the right to file a claim for damages. These can be both compensatory and/or punitive.

Compensatory damages are those that will reimburse actual monetary costs and expenses of medical attention, hospitalizations, medications, lost wages, and other costs associated with healing the injuries. Other damages will compensate an injury victim for things that aren’t so easily quantifiable such as pain and suffering, mental anguish, future potential medical care, potential future loss of earning capacity, and other general damages.

Punitive damages can be sought when a manufacturer completely, and with malice, disregards consumer safety, despite understanding and knowing the risks, and serves to punish them for their recklessness.

Recovering damages that fairly compensate an injury victim is where the help of a Santa Cruz products liability lawyer is critical.

Types of Products Liability Lawsuits

There are three ways that a company can be held liable for injuries and harm to consumers.

Negligence is when the manufacturer has shown disregard and carelessness in the inherent design of a product or in the manufacturing process. In order to prove negligence, it must be established that the company 1.) had a duty to sell a safe product, 2.) breached that duty, and 3.) that the product caused the injury. Although this sounds simple, it is often anything but when dealing with large companies. There are many points at which negligence may have happened during the production of a product. When it comes to proving negligence, it becomes the very complicated job of a products accident attorney in California to prove at which point the negligence took place and how it affected the client adversely.
Strict liability is when an injured consumer must only prove that a product defect caused an injury. Negligence is difficult to prove because of all the ways and points at which it could take place. Strict liability says that if a manufacturer produces a defective product, regardless of how or why it took place, that manufacturer is liable for any injuries that the product causes. Under strict liability, the injured party must prove that the injury was caused by a product that was purchased within the chain of distribution, the product hadn’t been altered, it was used in a manner that was intended, and the product led to the injuries. Consequently, many products liability claims are brought under strict liability claims.
Breach of Warranty is when a consumer has expectations of a product due to either an expressed warranty or an implied warranty. An expressed warranty is any statement or representation put out by the manufacturer that a product is safe. An implied warranty is inferred that if the product is on the market and used as intended, that it should be safe to use.

Consequently, when it comes to unsafe products, there are several avenues for an injured party to seek compensation from a manufacturer or even a retailer. But having the guidance of a professional California products injury lawyer is essential when going up against a large manufacturer with a team of lawyers representing them in court.

The State of California Requires That a Manufacturer Anticipates Both How a Product is Used and How it Can Be Misused

Here in California, we use the concept of whether a product’s use or misuse and subsequent harm was “reasonably foreseeable.”

Many of our products are inherently dangerous if used in the wrong way. Consequently, manufacturers are required to anticipate ways that their products may be misused and take precautions to either minimize that harm or warn consumers of the harm that may be caused by that misuse.

In products liability claims, juries will be asked to determine if the misuse was reasonably foreseeable and, if so, the manufacturer took reasonable precautions against that misuse. As you can imagine, proving this in a court of law can be a complex matter. Products liability lawyers in California understand the complicated nature of consumer laws and can help prove liability on the part of the manufacturer.

The Ongoing Saga of Vape Pen Injuries in Santa Cruz and all over California

After the recent instances of lung injuries due to EVALI (e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury), we have learned many things about the harm caused by e-cigarettes and vaping products.

EVALI, named by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was a new lung disease that was linked to vaping products that were used by younger consumers. It first made headlines in 2019 with mounting cases and by February of this year, the CDC had reported more than 2,800 cases of lung injury requiring hospitalizations throughout all fifty states that had been linked to vape products.

Not Waiting on the Government

Now, the FDA and CDC and local health officials are conducting their own investigations to understand these products and take action against perpetrators as the facts emerge. But many lawsuits are not waiting for the government to take action and are now being brought against the largest companies offering e-cigarette and vape pens, looking for compensation for injuries caused by these dangerous products.

Vape Pen Injuries and Addictive Consequences

The U.S. Surgeon General has warned of an e-cigarette and vape pen epidemic among young consumers with most suits being filed by young adults or parents of underage users. Once marketed as safer than tobacco products, new information uncovers the truth: that while the long-term effects are not yet known, the short-term effects can be serious with links to lung injuries, nicotine addiction and poisoning, seizures, and increases in the risks of strokes and heart attacks.

These are not inconsequential injuries, especially given the marketing of these products as safer alternatives to smoking. Suits brought against companies like Juul and other e-cigarette manufacturers and producers have shown not only the physical damages caused by these products but also the higher nicotine levels in fluids used by e-cigarettes, possibly worsening the dangers and leading to more addiction.

Current Lawsuits

Many current lawsuits are targeting Juul Labs, the company that accounts for approximately 75 percent of vaping products sold in the United States today. Claimants report that not only has the use of these products led to or increased addictions, they were also unaware that these fluids contained excessive amounts of nicotine. As of July of 2020, there were 758 active lawsuits against Juul Labs from around the United States.

Products Liability Laws for Vape Pens

Products liability law requires manufacturers to understand the health and safety implications of their products. Even though vape pens and e-cigarettes are relatively new products, the companies were still required to consult with independent medical and scientific experts concerning the safety of any product they put into the market and caution users of any hazards. But Juul lawsuits claim this did not happen. They also claim that Juul Labs

Targeted young consumers with their marketing
Marketed their products as safe alternatives to smoking without scientific evidence
Failed to warn about the use of nicotine salts that are frequently used in these products
Mislabeled nicotine dosages
Failed to limit the amount of nicotine that was delivered due to defective product design

Many suits have alleged that Juul Labs, consequently, has created a public nuisance and should be held responsible for any of the associated costs from the use and injuries caused by their products as well as funding further medical monitoring of their products.

Successfully Proving a Products Liability Claim

Successfully proving a products liability claim is a complicated undertaking. Many things must be proven to the standard of the law, from proof that injuries and damages were suffered, to proving the defect of the product, proving how the product was being used, to finally proving that the product was the direct cause of the individual’s injuries. Each step must be substantially proven to bring forth a successful products liability claim.

There are many variables to establish when bringing a products liability case, often requiring extensive investigations to support a client’s injury claim. In many cases, the injured party is going up against a large company with many of its own legal resources. Because of this, having the representation of a highly experienced California personal injury attorney is critical to the success of a products liability claim.

At Wave Law Firm, we help victims of injuries including those sustained by dangerous and defective products. If you have been injured by a hazardous product, you may be entitled to compensation for those injuries. Contact us for a complimentary consultation to understand your rights under the law and see if you may be entitled to compensation under a products liability claim.