We are a society of consumers. Every day we purchase and use products made by others. We assume that they are safe for their intended purposes, but products often malfunction, resulting in catastrophic damage, such as burns, head trauma, organ damage, and possibly death. To best address your situation, consider consulting a Pascagoula defective products lawyer who will review your case and propose options for holding wrongdoers accountable. Speak to a diligent personal injury attorney to learn your legal rights to recovering compensation for damages.
The federal government, through the Consumer Products Safety Commission and the Food and Drug Administration, regulates and monitors the manufacturing of goods for sale. As a result of their oversight, companies implement safety standards, and products are often recalled, but every year many dangerous items slip through the cracks injuring countless consumers. Defective products can be found in all areas of life, including, but are not limited to, children’s toys, motor vehicles, home appliances, recreational gear and structures, manufacturing tools, and construction equipment.
Manufacturers and others in the supply chain – parts suppliers, wholesalers, distributors, retailers, installers – have a duty to provide the public with safe merchandise and market them truthfully. If they fail to live up to the representations they make, they may shoulder responsibility for any resulting harm.
Depending on the circumstances, Mississippi law provides different avenues of legal liability when a product causes an injury, including:
Proving liability under any of these theories can be challenging. Still, lawyers who frequently prosecute unsafe product cases understand how to apply the legal landscape to each client’s facts to achieve a successful outcome.
Mississippi Code Annotated § 11-1-63 identifies the three types of dangerous products cases.
Design defects involve fundamentally unsafe products, even when used as intended, and the public follows enclosed instructions. The plaintiff and their lawyer must show that an alternative, safer design was available to the manufacturer.
A mistake or deviation during the production process could result in a tainted or defective product reaching consumers, with devastating effects. Manufacturing defects can also arise due to deficient work skills, sub-quality parts, or inadequate quality control.
Consumers may avoid some injuries with proper information. Where a reasonable consumer would not otherwise be aware of a dangerous condition, parties in the supply chain may bear legal responsibility for failure to provide instructions, labels, or warnings that might reduce, if not eliminate, the risk.
Whether according to a settlement agreement or court-ordered judgment, injured consumers may seek economic and non-economic damages per Miss. Code Ann. § 11-1-60(1). Economic damages compensate, without limitation, for actual expenditures and losses such as medical bills, lost wages, and future unearned income. Additionally, state law allows recovery for subjective harm and limits these non-economic-economic damages to $1 million. Examples of such awards include pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of consortium, and inconvenience.
In a small number of situations where a defendant acts with gross negligence or malice, the court may award punitive damages based on the defendant’s net worth.
Defective product cases involve complex legal theories, intricate fact scenarios, and high-powered law firms. Undeterred Pascagoula defective product lawyers routinely review client cases, tenaciously gather facts, and help clients determine the best path to obtain just compensation. Our highly skilled legal team is prepared to help you redress the harm done to you or your loved one. Call today to get started.