Every product manufacturer has a legal and ethical obligation to ensure their products post no unreasonable risks of injuries to end users through normal use of the products. If you or a loved one suffered an injury at work in the Dallas-Fort Worth area due to a product manufacturer’s failure to warn about hazards associated with their products, a lawsuit generally offers the best chance of recovery. Contact the Law Firm of Aaron A. Herbert, P.C. today about your legal options in a failure to warn case.
How Can an Attorney Help?
Finding a personal injury attorney is a major step toward recovery after suffering injuries from a dangerous consumer product or tool in the workplace. Your attorney can determine whether the manufacturer failed to include required instructions for use and safety warnings. An attorney will also help you gather evidence to support your claim and coordinate expert witness testimony, if necessary. Your attorney will ensure you cover every available channel of compensation in your claim. Ultimately, hiring an attorney significantly increases the chance of success with a failure to warn claim and may help you secure more compensation than you originally anticipated.
Elements of a Failure to Warn Claim
Many machine shop, engineering, fabrication, and assembly jobs require working with complex and often dangerous products. The manufacturers of these products must include adequate safety warnings and clear instructions for safe use with every product. If a product carries an inherent risk of injury through normal use, the manufacturer must include appropriate warnings and instructions.
A failure to warn case falls under product liability law, placing liability for injuries and other damages on the manufacturer. Even if a product does not have a design flaw or manufacturing defect, it may still qualify as defective for failure to warn. Failure to warn essentially qualifies as defective marketing, so any product manufacturer that fails to disclose required safety warnings and instructions with a product faces liability for any damages resulting from its use.
Proving Defective Marketing to Succeed in a Failure to Warn Claim
The product in a failure to warn case must carry some inherent safety risk without proper disclosure to qualify for a lawsuit under product liability law. A plaintiff’s attorney may consult with expert witnesses like safety experts, product designers, marketing experts, and others to support a plaintiff’s failure to warn lawsuit. The plaintiff’s attorney must prove the product requires specific warnings and the manufacturer failed to include those warnings.
The issue of foreseeability often comes into play in failure to warn lawsuits as most consumer products carry at least a moderate risk of end users misusing those products. If any potential for misuse exists with a product, or if using it in an unintended manner could put the user at risk of injury, the manufacturer must include safety warnings.
A product manufacturer’s only defense in these product liability cases generally extends to proving the plaintiff did not use the product as intended or ignored included instructions and/or safety warnings. The manufacturer cannot claim it was unaware of the defect if the problem was detectable with testing and research. All manufacturers have a duty to ensure the safety and efficacy of their products. If a product manufacturer discovers any defect that could harm end users, the manufacturer must issue a recall and bear liability for consumer damages from the faulty product.
What Are the Damages and Compensation?
Failure to warn can lead to severe injuries, especially when these incidents involve products in the workplace. A product liability claim against a negligent manufacturer can help an injured person recover medical expenses, lost income, property damage, and compensation for pain and suffering.
If you or a relative suffered injuries due to a manufacturer’s failure to warn, contact the Law Firm of Aaron A. Herbert, P.C. today to schedule a free case review with a product liability attorney. Once we have the details of your failure to warn case, we can help you better understand the scope of your damages and your legal options for compensation.