How to Start a Product Liability Case in New York

Buying something new can be exciting. As you hold your new product in your hands, a shiver of anticipation runs up your spine before you quickly but carefully open the package, revealing your new purchase. However, what can you do when your products work so poorly it injures you? When a defective product harms a customer before it can be recalled, this injury opens the door for the consumer to file a product liability claim.

Product liability claims allow victims of product defect injuries to pursue compensation for their injuries. Since these cases differ from a typical personal injury case, knowing how to start a product liability case may be confusing. As you learn how to get your product liability case started, consider also seeking legal counsel from an experienced product liability lawyer who may be able to help guide you through the process from beginning to end.

Determine What Product Defects Lead to Your Injury

Product liability is a branch of law that protects consumers from dangerous, substandard, or harmful goods sold on the open market. To establish product liability, the injured party, or plaintiff, must demonstrate that the faulty nature of the product was what made it unreasonably dangerous or unsafe to use, which resulted in your injury. You or your product liability attorney look at your case and determine what type of product defect led to your injuries.

Although there are many situations in which a defective product could cause harm to a person, there are three categories of product defects that can result in supplier, seller, or manufacturer liability.

Design Defects

Check to see if the injury was caused by a design flaw first. Equipment or a product that has been poorly designed or improperly tested has a design defect. Defects can result in unanticipated harm for the user of a product, whether the product’s design renders it inherently unsafe or neglects to include a few crucial precautions. Poor design will demonstrate that all of the goods are almost certainly flawed, unsafe, or harmful to users.

Manufacturing Defects 

Next, you can consider manufacturing defects as the possible reason for your injury if design flaws can be ruled out as the cause. Product malfunctions may give rise to product liability claims when they result in harm to the product’s user when the product does not perform as intended. A manufacturing flaw arises from the manufacturing process rather than the product’s design, which means that whatever rendered the product unsafe occurred during production.

Marketing Defects 

Marketing defects involve the instructions and warnings that come with a product. The maker of a product may be held accountable if a consumer is hurt because the manufacturer failed to include clear instructions or warning labels on the product.

Determine Which Type of Liability Applies to Your Case

After determining what product defects lead to your injury, you must decide which type of liability applies to your case. You have three liability options for filing a product liability lawsuit, including the following:

• Negligence: When a manufacturer neglects to take reasonable precautions to guarantee that items are created safely and work as intended
• Breach of Warranty: When the conditions and assurances provided in a product’s warranty are not satisfactorily upheld
• Strict Liability: When the manufacturer of a dangerous product is responsible for all damages and injuries sustained

Each type of liability has its own conditions that must be met so the claim you file will succeed. Meeting these conditions will require time, effort, and extensive knowledge of New York product liability law. In cases like these, a product liability lawyer may give victims a significant advantage when they’re up against the manufacturer’s legal team. 

Consult an Accomplished New York Product Liability Lawyer

When a defective product hurts you, it’s important to understand your legal rights. After carefully developing your claim, you’ll want to make sure you have reliable resources and legal experience on your side. In New York, the statute of limitations for the majority of product liability claims is three years following the day the injury occurred or the date the injury was discovered, so it is vital to act quickly to give your case a fighting chance.

The Law Office of Cohen & Jaffe, LLP will assist you in making sure the product manufacturer is held accountable for their wrongdoings. We will devote our abilities and efforts to helping you stand up for your rights and tenaciously defend those hurt by shoddy products. Check out and subscribe to the Cohen & Jaffe Youtube Channel, where we share our knowledge and experience, to learn more about our firm. Contact us at (866) 924-1787 or through our contact form to begin evaluating your legal options.

For a free legal consultation, call 516-358-6900