Defective DIY products, Personal Injury and How A Skilled Attorney Can Help

If you have been injured in any way through normal usage of a defective product when carrying out home improvements or DIY it is good to know that there are grounds for recourse. A skilled personal injury attorney Riverside who is well versed in dealing with such issues can help.

There is no getting away from it, DIY is big business and any products that are supposed to make life easier for the home improvement enthusiast are always going to sell. However there are occasions when a product is brought in good faith only to find that when used, it has caused personal injury to the said user.

So what constitutes a defective product?

According to the letter of the law, a product becomes defective when it has caused, or could cause, injury to a consumer when used in the way that it is supposed to be used. If the product does not carry sufficient warnings, directions, or standard safety precautions, then that product can also be classed as defective.

So how do products become defective...A Riverside County personal injury lawyer explains...

A product may become defective through a variety of consequences as follows...

Design defects

There are many stages in which a product can become defective and in reality it all starts with the design stage of production. It could well be that the product in question has an inherent design flaw which hasn't been picked up on any company due diligence. For example an electric drill may be fitted with a certain component that when used in normal circumstances may on the surface seem okay. However if used on a frequent basis suddenly overheats and becomes a fire hazard.

Manufacturing defect

Believe it or not defective product injuries caused through manufacturing defects are fairly commonplace. It could be that the product that has been put into production is being fitted with substandard or poor quality fixtures and fittings. This could be a real problem when it comes to normal everyday use and can often result in a very costly full product recall. A good example of this recently involved the car manufacturing giant Toyota. They suddenly became aware of a major problem in their Corolla and Camry models manufactured between 2001-2009. It seems that the accelerator pedal in these cars was sticking due to a badly aligned floor mat. This was blamed on substandard manufacturing. After 21 reported fatalities and hundreds of injuries Toyota recalled over 9 million vehicles and suspended sales for two weeks in January of 2010 whilst they sorted the problem out. This cost the company millions of dollars in compensation to injured victims and the plummeting price of shares only compounded the monetary loss.

Marketing defects

Products don't actually have to appear faulty to be defective. On the contrary a DIY product may appear to all intent and purpose normal. However they may not contain the right warnings to prevent people from having accidents. These are also known as 'failure to warn' and the responsibility lies squarely with the manufacturer to make sure safety precautions are printed on the packaging. 'How to use' labels should also contained within along with standard safety measures. Also any DIY product can have a marketing defect when it fails to live up to expectations within its warranty. This warranty can either be of the 'express' or 'implied' variety. When you purchase a product it is normal that you should expect the product to be safe for everyday use. This is known as implied warranty. Express warranty is when there is a statement written on the packaging detailing how the product should be used. This is so that the consumer knows and understands how to use it safely. Failure to comply with any of the above is a breach of warranty and as such a product can be deemed defective. An experienced team of Riverside County personal injury attorneys who have a proven track record when dealing with such issues will be able to explain exactly where you stand, legally speaking, and from this can seek some sort of recourse.

If you or a family member has suffered an injury because of a defective home improvement product, then the right team of Riverside personal injury lawyers will have a good understanding of the law and as a result will look to maximize compensation in order to deliver the right result for their client.