Birmingham Product Defect Attorney

Sometimes there may be product defects in the design or manufacturing of a product that causes serious injury or even death to the consumer. Our product defect attorneys have handled a wide range of defective product cases, from defective vehicles and auto parts to defective industrial equipment and defective drugs.

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When we purchase products, we expect them to work properly if used correctly. However, sometimes there may be defects in the design or manufacture of the product that cause serious injury or even death to the consumer. Most of these injuries could be prevented if additional steps were taken to ensure consumer safety or if adequate warnings had been given.

 

How to Sue for Defective Product

Our defective product attorneys believe that manufacturers, distributors, suppliers, and others who make products should be held legally accountable for the safety of their consumers.

 

Our product defect attorneys have a combined 60+ years of experience investigating the circumstances of accidents and meticulously sorting through the evidence.

 

We have handled a wide range of product liability cases, from defective vehicles and auto parts to defective industrial equipment, dangerous medical devices, and defective drugs. We have fought hard to win significant awards to help our clients recover from their injuries. Because defective product cases can be complex and expensive, you need a defective products lawyer with the experience and resources to help you receive the compensation you deserve for medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering.

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Product Liability Definition

Products liability involves consumers seeking damages for injuries or death caused by defective and unreasonably dangerous products. Defects in products can be categorized as design defects, manufacturing defects, unreasonably dangerous products, or marketing defects.

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Elements of Negligence

The elements of negligence are establishing duty and a breach of that duty that proximately causes injury or damage to the person or property of another.

• Contributory negligence. In Alabama, contributory negligence is a defense to a negligence action. In other words, if the complaining party contributed to any extent to the injury or damage that they sustained, then they are not allowed to recover from the negligent party. However, the burden of proving the complaining party’s negligence is on the defendant's negligent party. Contributory negligence is a defense to most product liability actions.

• Comparative negligence. The law does not consider comparative negligence in Alabama. Comparative negligence is the allocation of fault between the complaining party and the defendant based upon the degree to which each contributes to the injury or damages experienced by the complaining party.

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Types of Liabilities

The elements of negligence are establishing duty and a breach of that duty which proximately causes injury or damage to the person or property of another.

• Strict Product Liability. In Alabama, we have a statute that provides a cause of action for product liability. A "product liability action" can include any action brought by a natural person for personal injury, death, or property damage caused by the manufacture, construction, design, formula, preparation, assembly, installation, testing, warnings, instructions, marketing, packaging, or labeling of a manufactured product when such action is based upon

  1. Negligence

  2. Innocent or negligent misrepresentation

  3. The manufacturer's liability doctrine

  4. The Alabama extended manufacturer's liability doctrine as it exists or is hereafter construed or modified

  5. Breach of any implied warranty, or

  6. Breach of any oral express warranty.

• Under Alabama’s extended manufacturer’s liability doctrine, one must prove that the defective product reached the user without substantial alteration and that the claimant was injured or sustained property damage due to the product’s defective conditions which made the product unreasonably dangerous. The courts generally consider whether the product meets the reasonable expectations of an ordinary consumer with respect to its safety. A product may be considered defective in design, manufacture, or because of a failure to warn its users, and the liability for these damages extends to manufacturers, suppliers, and sellers. In design defect cases, the claimant must show that the danger arose in the manufacturer's intended design and that a safer, alternative design was available. In manufacturing defect cases, the claim is that the product has an unintended flaw, so even if the product was designed to be safe, it was not manufactured according to its intended design.

• The plaintiff may also claim that the manufacturer knew that its product could be dangerous and thus had a duty to warn end-users but failed to do so.

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Defective Products Examples

Some common examples of defective and dangerous products include:

• Cars

• Industrial equipment

• Household appliances

• Pharmaceuticals and drugs

• Medical devices

• Baby products

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Alabama law dictates that a product manufacturer or distributor may be liable for the injury or death caused by a defective product.

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Class Actions & Mass Torts

Many defective products affect a large number of people and those product liability lawsuits are handled as class actions or mass torts, with many different lawsuits being consolidated into one lawsuit for pretrial, settlement, or actual trial. 

 

The product liability lawyers at Petway French and Ford are experienced in handling mass tort and class action cases including those involving pharmaceuticals, toxic exposures, and medical devices, including:

• Zantac Lawsuit

• 3M Earplug Lawsuit

• Roundup Lawsuit

• Paraquat Herbicide Claims

• AFFF Foam Cancer Claims

• Mesothelioma Lawsuit

• Philips CPAP Lawsuit

• Hernia Mesh Lawsuit

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