Stuart Product Liability Lawyer

Product liability is a legal discipline as varied as there are products, including physical, organic, or medicinal. Product liability is comprised of three areas: defects in design, manufacturing, or marketing with injury or death as a result.

Each of these areas requires a skilled lawyer who has a thorough knowledge of these legal theories, such as a Stuart product liability lawyer, who is accomplished in litigating these cases.

Areas of Product Liability

The definitions of the three product liability areas are:

• Design. A product that has a preconceived flaw for the product’s attraction or a flaw that makes the product unsafe or dangerous
• Manufacturing: Some unintended misstep in the process of making the product, so that is not safe for its intended use
• Marketing: Not providing warning or notice about the product’s use or operation, or concealing a fact

In these areas of law, if the product is inherently dangerous, the defendant can be found liable without having any fault or knowledge of any fault. That tough line is the reason this area of law is known as “strict liability.”

Liability can extend to transporters and other handlers along the delivery chain.

Florida’s Statute of Limitations

A Stuart product liability lawyer advises that under Florida’s statute of limitations law, filing a lawsuit seeking damages must be accomplished within two years of the date that the product injury, death, or property damage occurred.

If a person died from a product injury, the time limit to sue for wrongful death damages is reduced to two years. Failing to sue within the time limit prevents the injured party from ever bringing a lawsuit for that particular matter.

Another time limit is Florida’s “statute of repose,” which increases the time limit to sue to 12 years for products that Florida law declares have up to 10 years or less of useful performance.

Product Liability Damages

Product warranties are voided if the product’s owner abused or misused the product, but the owner may still bring a product liability lawsuit. However, under Florida’s comparative negligence law, damages will be reduced if the product owner’s negligence contributed to the injury.

For example, if a jury determines that the product owner was 40 percent at fault in causing an injury, damages are reduced by 40 percent.

Damages that a person injured by a product may claim include medical bills, income that could not be earned because of the injury, damage to property, pain and suffering, and funeral and burial expenses if death occurred.

Product Liability Defenses

The defendant in a product liability case, with evidence, can allege that the product owner misused or modified the product and that is the reason for the injury. Another defense is that the product owner knew that the product had a dangerous propensity but used it anyway, thereby assuming the risk.

Contact a Stuart Product Liability Attorney Today

A Stuart product liability lawyer is available to consult with a prospective client without charging a fee for the time, and without imposing any obligation to hire the attorney. Damages can be awarded by a jury at trial or in a negotiated settlement between the parties. Get in touch with an experienced liability attorney today.