What Are Product Liability Laws in Montana?
The attorneys of Kovacich Snipes Johnson, P.C. have worked for over 30 years to hold the manufacturers and sellers of dangerous products responsible for the injuries they cause. Montana law holds manufacturers, distributors, and sellers of defective products to strict liability standards. The victim may seek compensation for his or her injuries even if the victim contributed to the product’s fault in some way. Only if the consumer was aware of the danger and made unreasonable use of the product or the consumer unreasonably misused the product may the manufacturer and sellers of the product escape liability for injuries.
According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, an average of more than 36 million people per year seek medical attention for injuries related to consumer products. If a defective product left you with injuries, you deserve an attorney who will stand up to big corporations to get you the compensation you deserve.
What Is Product Liability?
Manufacturers, distributors, and sellers of products to the public have an obligation to deliver goods free of dangerous defects. When a defective product causes an injury, those companies that manufacture and distribute the product are liable for the harm done by their products.
What Can Be the Results of Product Liability?
Defective products can cause serious injury not only to those who use them, but to those nearby when the product fails. Defective products can cause burns, puncture wounds, neck and back injuries, injuries to the eyes, head and brain injuries, and other serious trauma. In the worst cases, a defective product may result in the death of the person using the product. In such cases, the victims of injury may bring a personal injury claim or the family of someone killed by a defective product may bring a wrongful death suit against the company.
What Are Types of Product Defects?
A product can be defective in design, manufacture, and warning.
Although a manufacturer makes a defectively designed product well, the product fails to operate in a safe manner based on a fault in the design. As an example, if a brake company designs brakes using inadequate materials, the manufacturer may make the product exactly according to its design, yet still fail to stop a vehicle.
Defects in manufacture may include cracks in the parts, failure to secure bolts or screws, as well as failure to include all the parts needed to assemble the product.
A failure to warn occurs when the manufacturer fails to adequately inform the consumer of the product’s dangers. The failure to disclose reasonably apparent dangers makes the manufacturer liable for the injuries a consumer experiences.
Who Can Be Held Liable?
The designer of the product, or the part that failed in a larger product, may be liable for the injuries you suffer. The manufacturer of a product often includes parts in the larger design from other manufacturers. Those manufacturers may in turn include parts from other manufacturers. All manufacturers involved in the defect that caused your injury may be liable for your injury.
Any company that sells a product has a responsibility to ensure the products it sells are safe for the consumer. This includes any retailers who bought the product from the manufacturer and sold it to other retailers. Each seller along the supply chain is liable for any defective products it sells.
Do You Need a Lawyer?
Owing to the complexity of determining all the liable parties in a product liability suit and the fact that large companies and their insurers often fight product liability claims very strongly, trying to get compensation on your own can be extremely difficult.
Call the attorneys of Kovacich Snipes Johnson, P.C. today for a free consultation. Your attorney will give you an honest assessment of the merits of your case and help you understand your options going forward. Let us help you get the compensation you deserve today.
