Oakland Defective Products Lawyer

Consumers have protections in the state of California and when you’re injured using a product, it’s important to talk with a defective products lawyer who will work with you towards the goal of proving your case and winning a fair settlement. That work requires a nuanced understanding of both general product liability principles and how they apply here in California. 

Let an Oakland defective products lawyer from our office do the hard work of showing the court how and why your injuries were caused. Call Haley Law Offices at (510) 990-9290 or contact us online today. 

As the plaintiff in a defective products case, you and your attorney have the responsibility of showing that a defect occurred at one of three stages. The first possibility is a design defect. This would come by proving that the basic plans for this product were so flawed at the outset that there was no way the product could even be manufactured properly. 

That leads us to the second possibility, which is a manufacturing defect. In this instance, perhaps the design was fine, but something went wrong in putting the product together. Anything produced on an assembly line is certainly susceptible to manufacturing defects. 

Finally, we come to a labeling defect. There are some products that require reasonable warnings to consumers. A common example is the side effects that may come from medications or the exact instructions on how to use the medication. 

The plaintiff only needs to establish failure at one of these three stages to demonstrate a product is defective. Proving either of the first two–defects in design or manufacturing will quite likely be intense legal discovery work. This is where, after a lawsuit is filed, your attorney works to get access to a company’s documentation that might demonstrate the flaws. 

If the plaintiff’s charge is a labeling defect, that can come down to what it is, specifically, that is allegedly missing from the label. A manufacturer will not be responsible for laying out every last possible risk. 

For example, if the plaintiff purchases a floor heater, a court will likely presume they know not to plug it in right by a bucket of water because that would cause electrocution. But if the potential fire hazard rises after eight hours of continuous use? Now, the plaintiff will have a good case to argue that this limitation should have been made known. 

The most common examples of defective products involve medicine, medical devices, auto parts, household appliances and children’s toys.