No one ever expects a product they’re using to malfunction and seriously injure them. Consumers should be able to trust that the items they purchase and use every day are safe when used as intended. Unfortunately, this is not always the case, and defective products remain a common source of personal injury claims in Utah and across the U.S. 

If you’ve been injured by a product malfunction, you may be ready to do whatever it takes to get justice for what’s happened to you. 

But in order to do that, your lawyer will need to figure out who is liable for this defective product, as this is the party that will be responsible for compensating you. To understand who this party might be, you’ll have to take a closer look at the source—the cause of the product malfunction.

Defective Product Design

Defective design is one of the most common causes of injuries in product liability claims. Here, your lawyer will need to show that the design of the product itself is what caused the injuries you sustained. 

There was no malfunction that caused the item to hurt you; it was the way the item was designed. An example of a defective product design could be a phone that can overheat and catch on fire when plugged in to charge the battery. 

Manufacturer Defects

When a product is defective due to manufacturing defects, it usually affects only one or a few of that particular product. Somewhere in the manufacture of this product a mistake was made that caused these few products to be defective rather than the entire product as whole. 

A couple of examples of manufacturing defects could be a car’s airbag missing its airbag inflator, or a box of cereal you bought being contaminated with pieces of metal.

Failure to Provide Adequate Warnings

Failure to provide adequate warnings is another common cause of injuries in product liability claims. Here, there was a failure to warn the consumer of a risk or danger that involved the product and required the consumer to exercise caution. 

For example, if you became ill after consuming an over-the-counter medication that should not have been combined with your antibiotic, you may have a failure-to-warn claim if the over-the-counter drug did not have the necessary warning label.

Call a Product Liability Lawyer in Utah

When a product malfunctions, causing catastrophic injuries, the appropriate parties should be held accountable for their negligence. Find out whether you have grounds for a civil claim. 

Call an experienced Utah product liability lawyer with Craig Swapp & Associates at 1-800-404-9000. Or, complete the quick contact form we have included below so you can schedule your free, no-obligation case evaluation. 

Written By: Ryan Swapp     Legal Review By: Craig Swapp