Product liability law holds manufacturers and sellers responsible for the damages if their products should cause a personal injury to consumers. Although the specific rules vary from state to state, to win a product liability lawsuit, plaintiffs must prove certain elements. Here are a few factors you need to show if you plan to bring a suit against a manufacturer or seller for product liability.

4 Steps of a Personal Injury Case for Product Liability

1. Defect

You must prove that the product was defective. For instance, the particular item may have been constructed improperly, such as having an integral design defect, so the entire line of products could be a danger. Likewise, the product may have worked as planned, but it simply did not have the proper warning label to alert users of a specific danger.

2. Injury

You must also show that you experienced a personal injury. You should be able to document this with photographs, a doctor's testimony, medical treatments, or other evidence. Failure to show an actual injury could derail your case, even if the other elements are present. This is why you should get checked out by a medical professional as soon as you notice an issue.

3. Causation

You must show that the product caused the injury. Causation doesn’t need to be direct. For instance, if the product failure causes something else to happen that is reasonably foreseeable—and that action leads to an injury—the court may deem the product failure to be the "proximate cause" of the injury.

4. Duty

You must finally show the manufacturer or seller had a duty to make or sell a safe product. This element is normally fairly easy for an attorney to show. Most states recognize a duty of care, which requires sellers to behave as a reasonable person would do in similar circumstances.

To discuss your product liability case with an experienced personal injury lawyer, contact Miraldi & Barrett, Co. in Lorain, OH. They have provided Lorain County with invaluable legal advice since 1949. They also specialize in truck accidents, nursing home neglect, and medical malpractice cases. Visit their website to see a list of their practice areas, or call (440) 233-1100 to schedule a free consultation.