Manufacturers and designers can make mistakes in creating consumer products that can lead them to malfunction and cause severe injuries. Products with design and manufacturing defects will not operate as they usually should, exposing consumers to harm. Consumers can experience severe injuries, such as facial injuries, broken bones, and knee injuries, because of these defective household products.
Household products like appliances, toys, furniture, and heating products can malfunction. Using a defective household product can lead to someone experiencing a severe injury that can cause damages like medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering.
After suffering an injury from a defective product, a victim can file a product liability claim to hold the designer, manufacturer, seller, or distributor accountable for their negligence that led to the dangerous product causing damages.
What Defects in Household Products Can Expose Consumers to Harm?
Product liability claims are personal injury claims filed by victims of dangerous products to hold companies accountable for designing, manufacturing, or selling a defective product. Household products that people need to use daily can have defects that lead to them malfunctioning, not working safely, and causing severe injuries.
The following are the three types of defects in household products:
- Design defects: This is when the product’s design is inherently dangerous. Even if the plan is followed correctly, the product still has dangerous qualities that prevent the consumer from using it safely. This can include using a dangerous metal or chemical, using two or more materials that cannot be used together safely, or having sharp objects poke out from the product.
- Manufacturing defects: Defective products can cause severe injuries when the manufacturer fails to correctly follow the product’s design. This can include using the wrong materials, wiring an appliance incorrectly, or failing to include a material that can make the product safe.
- Failure to warn: All potentially dangerous products must have a warning label to inform consumers about the health risks associated with the product. Failing to warn about a product’s dangers can lead to a person suffering an unexpected injury or illness.
Defective Appliances That Can Cause Severe Injuries
One of the most common household products that can malfunction and cause significant injuries is appliances. You can plug these electrical machines into an outlet to help with cooking, cleaning, and food preservation. They have complex circuitry that helps them to operate correctly.
If a manufacturer fails to hook up the circuitry properly, the products can malfunction and electrocute a consumer. They can also catch on fire or explode, exposing consumers to burn injury risk. Malfunctioning appliances can cause significant physical and internal injury that can complicate your life with harmful symptoms. They can also release harmful chemicals that can affect the body and lead to organ failure and infections.
The following are some defective household appliances that can expose a consumer to harm:
- Washing machines and dryers
- Microwaves
- Stoves
- Ovens
- Refrigerators and freezers
- Gas grills
- Dishwashers
- Coffee makers
- Vacuums
- Space heaters
- Toasters
- Hair straighteners and dryers
Consumers can also suffer injuries from malfunctioning consumer electrical products, such as video game systems, speakers, telephones, cameras, televisions, and desktop computers. If you suffered an injury from a malfunctioning household product, you should go to the hospital to have a healthcare professional diagnose your injury and determine the best path for your recovery.
Children Can Suffer Harm from Dangerous Toys
Poorly designed or manufactured toys can cause harm to children. Some toys can be manufactured with dangerous chemicals and materials, such as lead paint, that can cause organ damage and lead to significant health problems. Some toys contain batteries or electrical wiring. These toys can overheat and cause burn injuries to a child.
Most toys that contain small parts have choking hazard warnings, cautioning parents so they pay close attention to their child putting these parts in their mouths. However, a poorly designed toy can break apart into little pieces that their child can swallow, leading to choking.
Poorly Designed or Manufactured Furniture Can Cause Severe Injuries
Designers and manufacturers of furniture must pay close attention to details because something slightly off can lead to furniture falling apart. Defective furniture can fail to hold a person’s weight and fall apart, leading to them falling to the ground and suffering blunt-force trauma. Furniture like couches, chairs, recliners, stools, and armchairs can all have design and manufacturing defects that can cause them to break.
Should You Hire a Product Liability Lawyer?
Liable parties, such as product manufacturers, designers, sellers, and distributors, can be held liable for their negligence that led to harm from a dangerous product. Victims of dangerous products can suffer damages, such as medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering, for which they can pursue compensation through a product liability claim.
Hiring a product liability lawyer can help with the claim process, as they have experience litigating these claims. Holding a company accountable for dangerous product damages can be difficult, as they have vast resources and powerful lawyers. An experienced product liability lawyer can apply their expertise to your claim to help you recover economic and non-economic damages.
The following are some ways a product liability lawyer can help with your dangerous product claim:
- Calculate the cost of your damages
- Determine whose negligence lead to the dangerous product
- Explain your rights
- Send out the demand letter to the at-fault party’s insurance company
- Collect evidence to prove your case
- Contact eyewitnesses and expert witnesses
- Negotiate a settlement with the liable party’s insurer
- Represent you in court
Contact The Russo Firm for Help With Your Product Liability Claim
At The Russo Firm, our product liability lawyers have experience helping victims of dangerous products like Zantac, AFFF firefighting foam, and hair relaxers. If you suffered a severe injury from a dangerous household product, we can use our vast resources and expertise to help you hold the manufacturer, designer, seller, or distributor accountable for their negligent behavior. Contact us for a free product liability case evaluation at (561) 270-0913 or leave a message on our online contact page.
