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Products Liability
Product liability refers to the legal liability that
is held by all parties that are in some way or another related
to the manufacture and distribution of a product. In
the eyes of Oklahoma product liability law, a “product”
includes most everything that is bought and sold such as real
estate, animals, and writings. For example, a producer of
defective navigational charts can be held responsible for
damages caused by the use of the defective chart. Many parties
are involved in the production and distribution of a product
therefore many parties are legally responsible for the defective
products performance. There are no federal laws governing
product liability so it is the responsibility of individual
states to determine who along the long chain of production
and distribution is responsible for what and to what degree
they are responsible.
In order for a product to give rise to liability
claims the product must be deemed defective. There
are three product defects that can classify a product as defective:
defective products in design, defective products in manufacturing,
and defective products in marketing.
A design defect is one that occurs before the product
is even produced. An example of a design defect would
be an unnecessarily slippery car tire. The original design
of the tire might be a tread pattern that would displace water
to prevent hydroplaning. However, if the end result is a tire
that will not hydroplane but will loose traction in loose
gravel and place the user in danger of loosing control of
the vehicle, the tire could be deemed a defective product
due to the defective design.
A manufacturing defect is one that occurs during
the manufacturing process. This usually gives rise
to only a few defective products out of the whole lot. An
example of a manufacturing defect would be a single seatbelt
that because of a misplaced screw did not hold tight during
a collision. If a person were injured as a result of this
defective seatbelt, the manufacturer could be held legally
accountable on the grounds of producing a defective product.
A marketing defect is one that occurs not in the
product itself but in the distribution and education process.
A marketing defect could be as simple as improper instructions
or as dangerous as promoting asbestos as a great home insulation.
Many people can be held liable for a product’s performance
under this type of defect. A local store owner can be legally
responsible for encouraging the incorrect use of a product
the same as a marketing director could be held liable for
a large toy company.
The scope of people liable for the defective products that
they produce or are in some way affiliated with is enormous.
If there is a defect in any facet of a product’s performance
that causes injury, there is a person who is legally responsible.
Contact Atkins & Markoff, an Oklahoma
City based plaintiff’s personal injury law firm,
to discuss your situation today. Please fill out our contact
form or call us toll free.
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