Defective Product Claims

Product liability relates to a product involved in the death, injury, or damage to a person or property primarily due to the product being ‘defective’.

Manufacturers, suppliers, distributors and retailers may bear responsibility and be the subject of a claim if they are involved along the chain.  All have a duty of care to consumers of product and may be liable for a faulty or defective product.  There are multiple options available when considering whether to pursue a product liability claim.

If you have been injured by a defective product then contact our injury solicitors now to find out how we can help you.

Product liability law

There are two main legal channels a claimant can use to make a product liability claim: the Consumer Protection Act 2015 and common law of negligence.

The Consumer Protection Act states the trader of a product may be liable for any death, injury, or damage to personal property caused by a defective product.

“A product is defective if ‘the safety of the product is not such as persons generally are entitled to expect”

Gov.uk

What persons are generally entitled to expect regarding product safety differs from product to product, including the price, how a product has been marketed and the time between the product being manufactured and then supplied to the consumer.

There must also be a valid contract in place, whether express or implied.  A breach of that contract may include:

• Compliance with the description of the product
• Failure to be of satisfactory quality
• Unfit for purpose
• Incorrect installation

Quality is a general term which includes – appearance and finish, freedom from minor defects, safety, durability and fitness for all the purposes the product was supplied.

Manufacturers of, or any person responsible for, a component within a product can also be found liable under the Consumer Protection Act. This also includes producers and suppliers.

Common law of negligence states that manufacturers have to take reasonable care to ensure that a product is safe for its intended use. Reasonable care includes:

• Careful research and implementation during the design and manufacture of a product
• Performing tests on a product
• Providing warnings of potential dangers caused by the misuse of a product
• Recalling a product if there is the discovery that a product has a dangerous defect

Similar to the Consumer Protection Act, manufacturers are not the only party that can be found to be liable, distributers, suppliers and retailers can be found to be liable too.

Making Product liability claims

As is the case with most injury claims, you have three years from the date of injury or damage to claim under the Consumer Protection Act.

If the effects of the defective product were not immediately noticeable at the time of injury or damage then the prospective claimant has three years from the date that they were made aware of the effects of the defective product to begin a claim.

There is also a limit of ten years from when the product was put into circulation to begin a product liability claim.

It is unlikely third parties will be able to pursue a claim under the Consumer Protection Act as there is unlikely to be a valid contract in place between them and the potential ‘traders’/Defendant.  However, a claim for negligence can be made by the injured or damaged party or their dependants/relatives regardless of whether or not they were the one who purchased the defective product.

If the property is business property (rather than an individual) the Consumer Protection Act does not apply.  However, a claim in negligence may be brought by a business.

Claiming work injury compensation

Compensation for an injury at work takes into account factors far beyond the pain and suffering you have felt because of your accident. For example, stress at work can lead to psychiatric damage which can be the subject of a claim without there being any physical pain present.

If you win your claim then you will be entitled to compensation for any loss of earnings you have experienced due to time off work and potential future income, as well as compensation for any costs that you will have to pay as a result of your injury such as care costs, medical treatment, adaptions to your home or vehicle so they are compatible for safe use.

Every case is different so we encourage you to get in touch as soon as possible if you have had an injury at work and after a consultation with one of our expert personal injury lawyers you will have a good idea of what you can potentially claim for.

Fill out the contact form below to see if you’re entitled to workplace compensation.

Injury at work claim if an agency or temporary worker

Part time, temporary, and self-employed contracted staff generally have the same protections as permanent full-time staff when it comes to health and safety. The same applies for whether you are working on an official written contract or just a verbal contract.

The only time an agency worker may not be eligible to a claim if they are injured at work is if they are employed/paid direct by an agency who have a managerial presence on site with control of tasks completed, supervision, health and safety and training.  Because they are employed by the agency rather than the third-party business where they were working the agency are more likely to be would be liable for the injury.  That said, the agency worker may still be to pursue a public liability claim in certain circumstances against the third party business.