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In the past, the rule of the day was ?buyer beware?. It was up to consumers to inform and protect themselves from irresponsible companies and dangerous products. Current law, however, is just the opposite. Now companies are legally required to provide reasonably safe products. If companies produce dangerous or defective products, consumers can sue them for the injuries suffered as a result. Strict product liability makes everyone in the production process, from component manufacturers to distributors, responsible for the safety of the product. This makes safe products a priority for both consumers and producers, which should be the ideal situation.

However, the mere existence of this law has not completely protected consumers from dangerous products. Often companies are not careful and let defective products slip through the production line, or they compromise the safety of their product to reduce costs. Defective products reach the shelves every day, where they can hurt consumers. When these products injure you, it is important to find a lawyer and pursue the company, both to claim the repayment you deserve and to protect other consumers from the defective product.

A product does not even have to be defective for its manufacturer to be liable under product liability law. If a product is merely unsafe to consumers, every company affiliated with the production, distribution, and retail of that product can be held responsible. There are four different ways to legally establish product liability for defective or dangerous products: negligence, breach of warranty, misrepresentation, and strict liability.

A company is considered negligent when it is responsible for providing a standard of safety and does not do so. This includes inaction as well as careless and intentionally dangerous practices. Breach of warranty occurs when a product fails to carry out the claims of a seller. Companies are obligated to fulfill any promises made to customers. Misrepresentation refers to the expectations consumers hold from a products advertising and promotion. If consumers are lead to believe, through advertising, that a product is safer than it really is, the product has been misrepresented. Finally, strict liability assigns the responsibility for safety to every step of the production and distribution process. If a product is defective and the defect injures a consumer, the company is strictly liable and responsible for the injury regardless of fault or intent.

A person only has three years to bring an action from the time they become aware of the loss, the defect, and the manufacturer. Any action that is taken has to happen within ten years of the time the goods were supplied. This creates a limited window for consumers to protect their interests, claim repayment from irresponsible companies, and establish justice for dangerous business practices. This area of law is very complicated and if you feel that you have been hurt or injured by any product you should contact a lawyer right away. An attorney will review your case and tell you from experience what you could expect from pursuing a lawsuit.

For more information about this article and/or the author visit http://www.hugesettlements.com/articles/Product_Liability.htm

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