When consumers purchase products, they may not anticipate that they could be facing risks of injury and death. Indeed, consumers expect and deserve safe products. Sadly, products may be flawed, and defective products may cause injuries and death. According to the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission, each year in the United States, defective products cause the deaths of 22,000 people and cause approximately 30 million people injuries. Sustaining an injury from a defective product can be challenging, stressful, and overwhelming. Victims may wonder who was at fault for their injuries and losses. Since many people and businesses could have been involved, victims may be unsure who is responsible to provide them with fair and just compensation. A product may be defective because of problems in its design, manufacturing, and marketing. The Mark Casto Law Firm understands how to identify the parties who may be responsible for a defective product injury. Consider contacting The Mark Casto Law Firm to learn who could be responsible for defective products in your case today at 706-940-4002.
Chain of Manufacture
Before a customer purchases a defective product, the defective product goes through many transitions and parties. The chain of manufacture refers to all the parties that contributed to creating and selling the defective product before the consumer purchased it. Any party in the chain of manufacture may potentially be liable for the defective product.
Component Manufacturer
Sitting at the top of the chain of manufacture is the component manufacturer. The component manufacturer produced the individual parts, goods, and materials that went into the defective product. A defective product could have multiple component manufacturers. Indeed, businesses may rely on various suppliers to create products. Victims of defective products and their family members might sue component manufacturers.
Assembling Manufacturer
Another potentially liable party within the chain of manufacture is the assembling manufacturer. The assembling manufacturer receives individual pieces from the component manufacturer. The assembling manufacturer puts the parts together to build a finished product. Victims of defective products and their family members might also have the legal right to sue assembling manufacturers.
Liability for Manufacturers
In general, manufacturers face many types of lawsuits. Georgia law gives victims of defective product injuries the right to sue manufacturers who caused product errors. One way to sue manufacturers after a product injury is to claim that the product had an error in its design, causing harm to the victim. In Georgia, victims have to prove that there was a design error. Victims of defective products may also sue manufacturers if a product was defective because of a mistake during manufacturing. Manufacturing defect cases are distinct from design defect cases with respect to the number of products impacted. If there was a design defect, all products of a type might have been defective. Alternatively, if the manufacturer made a mistake, only a few products of a type might have been faulty.
Strict Liability
Furthermore, in Georgia, manufacturers may be strictly liable for defective product injuries. Strict liability does not require victims to prove that manufacturers made careless errors. Rather, it is enough to prove that the manufacturer made the product, the product was defective when the manufacturer had control over it, and the defective product injured the victim.
The Wholesaler
After the assembling manufacturer, the wholesaler follows on the chain of manufacture. The wholesaler purchases products in bulk and stores them. Then, the wholesaler sells products to resellers for a profit. Defective product victims might also have the legal right to sue assembling manufacturers.
The Retail Seller
Finally, the retail seller is the last party in the chain of manufacture. The retail store owner purchases products from the wholesaler. Then, the retail store owner sells the products to customers. Victims of defective products may have visited a retail store in person or shopped online. Defective product victims may sue retail store owners as well. For instance, retailers are required to stop selling recalled products. If a retail seller sold a defective product after it was recalled, the victim might be able to sue the retail seller.
How Can Victims of Defective Products Sue Sellers?
Generally, a victim of a defective product must establish several things to bring an effective and legally sound case against the seller from which the victim purchased the defective product:
- The victim must show that the seller sold the victim the product.
- The victim must establish that the victim used the product after purchasing it.
- The victim must demonstrate that the victim got an injury.
- Notably, the victim must show that the product was faulty at the time of sale. The seller might not be liable if the product sustained damage after the sale.
- The victim must establish that the defective product caused the victim’s injury. There are two types of causation that a victim could show: actual cause and proximate cause.
Establishing causation may be legally complex and challenging. The Mark Casto Law Firm can assist victims of defective products to help them prove causation, and to help them receive justice.
How Can Victims of Defective Products Sue Parties in the Chain of Manufacture?
Victims of defective products may sue parties in the chain of manufacture for negligence. The component manufacturer, assembling manufacturer, wholesaler, and retailer all owed the victim a duty of care because they provided a product to the victim. Mistakes in the chain of manufacture breached the duty of care to the victim. If the defective product injured the victim, then the victim might be able to prove that parties in the chain of manufacture were negligent. Negligence is one of several other theories that establish liability for a defective product. An experienced product liability attorney may be able to help victims of defective products.
Contact an Experienced Georgia Product Liability Attorney To Learn More
Consumers deserve safe products, yet problems with product design, manufacturing, and sale give rise to safety concerns. Victims of defective product injuries may be able to sue multiple parties. Indeed, the chain of manufacture encompasses component manufacturers, assembling manufacturers, wholesalers, and retail sellers. A product liability attorney may help victims of defective products acquire compensation for expenses such as medical bills and lost wages. Additionally, victims may also potentially recover punitive damages that punish the parties at fault. Product liability cases can be complex. Multiple parties may be liable for defective product injury. Defective product victims may consider reaching out to The Mark Casto Law Firm at 706-450-7071 to learn more about their legal rights.