The legal system has introduced a strict liability aspect to claiming a deficiency in a given product. What does that mean in terms of making a viable claim?
What is required in order to make a claim?
Claimant must show that he or she suffered some form of loss, as the result of an attempt to use a dangerous or defective product.
What is the meaning of strict liability?
The product used by the claimant contains a defect that makes it unreasonably dangerous. The same product causes injury to a user, even one with a reasonable level of foresight.
What is the required feature in the injury to the user/claimant?
That injury has to be compensable. That means that it should be of marked and measurable significance, as per Personal Injury Lawyer in Kingston.
The legal system recognizes 2 types of compensable injuries.
One type of injury refers to physical damage to the claimant’s body. Claimants that want to prove the existence of such damage in court need to work with a lawyer, in order to obtain an expert witness. The witness should be able to explain the nature of the product-caused damage to the claimant’s body.
The other type of injury reflects the existence of financial damage. The legal system puts limits on the types of claims that can be made by someone that has suffered only financial damage. That same person lacks the ability to seek compensation for pain and suffering.
How does the legal definition of strict liability affect the legal requirements on product packaging?
The directions on the package must be aimed at someone with a reasonable level of foresight. Because the legal system has not defined the meaning of reasonable foresight, a smart company prepares directions for someone that lacks any great amount of background knowledge.
Sometimes not every possible outcome, from utilization of a given product, can get mentioned on the product label. That is certainly the case with some of the newer medications. In order to make up for that lack of space, the drug companies add some warnings to their printed and aired commercials.
How does the government benefit from the rules on strict liability?
The enforcement of those rules limits the number of cases that must be heard in the courtrooms. The court would not agree to hear a case in which a claimant has suffered only a minor medical problem, after using a given product. Suppose, for instance that a woman breaks a fingernail, while trying to open a can of soda. That would not qualify as measurable damage. Consequently, that same woman would not have grounds for filing a defective product claim against the company that had made and sold that particular can of soda.
Recent Comments