Injured from a Faulty Product? You May Be Entitled to Compensation

 Posted on February 22,2022 in Personal Injury

Purchasing and consuming products is a part of everyday life for most Americans. From groceries to shampoo to toys for your children, there seem to be unlimited amounts of products to purchase. Sometimes, an item has a mistake or fault in its design or composition that injures the consumer. Whether a product was purchased online or in person, defective consumer goods may lead to an injury. If you were injured from a faulty product, you may be entitled to receive compensation for your damages. 

What is Product Liability in Illinois? 

Product designers, manufacturers, and distributors have a responsibility to ensure that the product iis up to standard and works as advertised. A company or another individual that sells a product may be held responsible if the item causes injury to a consumer due to a mistake in its composition. Illinois law considers a product “defective” if it has an inherent flaw in its design, manufacturing, or its warning label. 

Mistakes in a product’s creation, design, or warning labels may lead to a serious injury. A chair with a faulty design may cause a person seated on it to fall and injure themselves. An incorrectly manufactured toy may have a piece sticking out that impales or scrapes a child playing with it. A medication with a faulty warning label may cause a person to suffer medical problems. 

How to File a Claim

The first step in filing a claim for personal injury from a defective product is to find a skilled personal injury attorney that can help represent you in your case. There are a few ways that a plaintiff can file for compensation:

• Strict Liability — To file a claim for strict liability, a few key criteria must be met. The product must have been unreasonably hazardous when it was designed, manufactured, or sold and the consumer must have been injured because of the dangerous nature of the product.

• Negligence — A negligence claim may be filed by the plaintiff if the manufacturer or owner of the faulty product was negligent in ensuring that the product was of good quality. Typically, negligence claims are when a manufacturer does not complete the typical steps in ensuring the quality of a product. 

• Breach of Warranty — To file for breach of warranty, the warranty on the product was misleading or false and did not ensure the user's safety. 

Contact a Joliet Product Liability Attorney 

If you were injured from a defective product, Michael J. Lichner, a Will County personal injury lawyer, may be able to represent you and help you obtain your rightful compensation. Lichner has an extensive history of representing injured individuals and leading them through the process of pursuing compensation for their injuries. To schedule a free consultation, call today at 815-730-1977 for your initial appointment. 

Sources(s):

https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/fulltext.asp?DocName=073500050K13-213