In a world where Florida residents constantly seem to be under siege because of defective products [http://goo.gl/g1FBcV], knowing what to do can be challenging. Calling a West Palm Beach personal injury attorney is one of the first steps that needs to be taken but what happens after this call has already been made?
While consumer products regulations are designed to eliminate these sorts of concerns, there are a wide range of defective products that can cause problems for Florida residents. Companies cut corners and these types of decisions have far reaching effects. The most important step of the legal process is proving liability and this is where a West Palm Beach personal injury attorney becomes invaluable.
Even something as simple as shingles can cause issues for those who reside in Florida. To find out more about the process of proving liability, you must first learn about all of the different types of product liability. Most cases of this nature will fall under Florida’ theory of strict liability. There are three different categories that need to be considered:
Manufacturing Defects: These are chance occurrences. They are typically not going to be present in every individual product.
Failure To Warn Customers: Florida has passed the necessary liability laws in this regard. If the manufacturer has reason to believe that the product is defective and they do not take the time to warn their customers, they can be held liable in a court of law. If injuries occur due to lack of warning about the actual usage of the product, these injuries also fall under this category.
Defects in Design: Let’s say that a product has been manufactured perfectly and the customer is still experiencing injuries. This means that the product was not manufactured in the proper manner and the claimant will need to demonstrate that the product would cause the same injuries to all users.
How Is Liability Proven In Florida?
There are three elements to each of these cases that have to be considered. For starters, the claimant must be able to prove that they have experienced injuries as a result of the product usage. A failure to prove that the injuries occurred is very detrimental to the case. In addition to proving that the injuries are real, the claimant also has to prove that the injuries occurred because of the product in question.
Once these elements have been proven, the claimant also needs to prove that the product itself is defective. There must be a specific defect that is being discussed in these instances. A Florida injury attorney will always urge their client to document their injuries, receive prompt medical attention and hold onto the product as evidence. Pictures and videos are also tremendously useful in this regard.