While driver error and negligence are the most common causes of car accidents, defective parts and poor design are overlooked causes. For example, faulty brakes, gear shifts, and wipers can cause collisions, injuries, and death as much as a distracted driver.
If a product fails and causes injuries, the manufacturer, product designer, or any party that caused that defect is liable for your emotional losses, financial experiences, and property damage.
That said, how does that work? Who can you sue? How much can you get? Here's what our prescreened product liability lawyers in Los Angeles have to say about it:
Product Liability Claims In Los Angeles Car Accidents
Sometimes, the responsible party in your car accident isn't you or the other driver. Instead, it could be the car or its parts. When this happens, your car accident will fall under product liability claims in California.
What Is Product Liability In Los Angeles?
Simply put, product liability can be categorized into three types of cases:
- Manufacturing Defects, such as factory mistakes, assembly problems, etc.
- Design Defects, where the design is inherently faulty or hazardous.
- Failure To Warn with proper labels and manuals.
To qualify for a product liability claim, you must identify your vehicle's exact problem. Knowing what went wrong is also one of the easiest ways to tell which party (or parties) have contributed to your car accident.
If you're unsure whether your claim is eligible for a case, consult a product liability lawyer in Los Angeles.
Who Might Be Liable For Accidents Caused By Defective Cars And Parts In California?
The basic principle is that people who have breached their duty of care that led to your accident are considered negligent. Depending on your case, you could have one defendant or multiple ones.
As long as you and California product liability lawyer prove that they're negligent and liable, they are legally required to compensate for your losses.
That said, here are a few possible defendants in product liability claims in California, including but not limited to:
The Manufacturer
The manufacturer of the car or its defective parts must ensure their products are safe and work well. Factory defects, design flaws, and warning labels should be done prior to releasing to product down the distribution chain.
This is why car companies do multiple inspections and quality assessments. If you purchased a car and used it as a reasonable person would, and its parts still malfunctioned and caused an injury, then you have the right to contact a California product liability attorney and compel liable parties to compensate you for damages.
The Retailer
Car retailers can also be held liable. Failure to inspect and adding defective modifications that caused accidents are among the most common reasons to file claims against them.
Negligence can happen in many ways. To ensure you identify all the liable parties involved in your accident, your California product liability lawyer will conduct their own investigations and look for evidence to prove your claim.
The Distribution Chain
If proven to be negligent, anyone within the distribution can be sued for product liability claims in California. Again, it's possible to have multiple defendants in your case, and your damages can be split among them based on the settlement or the court's judgment.
How Much Is Your Product Liability Claim Worth?
The liable parties will compensate you for the total losses you incur. These losses include the following:
- Economic damages, like hospital bills, lost income, damaged property, permanent disability, etc.
- Non-economic damages like emotional distress, loss of consortium, pain and suffering, etc.
Should you go to court, you might be awarded an additional form of damages called punitive damages. However, these are only reserved for the most egregious cases, so they're much rarer than the first two.
Whatever the case, the best way to get an estimate of your potential damages is to consult a California product liability attorney. Your lawyer will know what to look for, who to name as defendants, and how to build a strong, winning case.
Find Prescreened Product Liability Lawyer in Los Angeles
Getting into an accident is stressful on many fronts. Not only do you have to deal with physical and emotional pains, but you will also face economic losses from medical and other recovery bills.
Hiring a product liability lawyer in Los Angeles will ease the difficulties you are already experiencing in the workplace.
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