South Carolina Defective Products Lawyers

Do you believe you need a defective product attorney? Consumer products touch nearly every aspect of our daily lives, whether at home, at work, during leisure, or in transit. We use all sorts of manufactured goods with little thought as to the dangers they might pose.

Unfortunately, defective products such as Philips CPAP result in serious injuries or death for thousands of Americans each year. Companies that design, produce, and sell products have an obligation to make them safe or warn about any inherent dangers. When they fail to do so, they must compensate the victims of their defective products.

Our South Carolina defective products attorneys at Joye Law Firm Injury Lawyers have over 300 years of combined litigation experience and are committed to helping people who have suffered a life-changing injury because of unsafe products. We can help you get the compensation you deserve if a defective product is to blame for your injuries.

Proving Liability in a South Carolina Defective Product Case

Typically, in order to hold someone liable for your injuries, you must prove that they were negligent in some manner and that their negligence resulted in your injuries. However, when dealing with a defective product, it can be extremely difficult – not to mention expensive – for a single individual to show how and when a manufacturer was negligent in the making of their product.

Furthermore, if a consumer hopes to file a claim against the seller or distributor, they must prove that the seller or distributor did not have an effective system in place for checking the products they sold. However, even if the seller or distributor did have an effective system in place, they cannot be expected to test each and every product that comes through their store.

Finally, a consumer cannot be expected to test every product that they purchase before they purchase it. Not only would this be difficult to do, but also, most sellers would not allow it.

For all of these reasons, the law has established what is known as “strict liability,” which basically allows an injured individual to sue a manufacturer, retailer, or distributor simply on the grounds that they were injured by the product. The plaintiff need not prove negligence.

The rules of strict liability are as follows:

1. The product had an unreasonably dangerous defect that resulted in injury to the consumer
2. The defect caused an injury while the product was being used in a way that it was intended to be used
3. The product had not been substantially changed from its original condition

However, just because you need only prove that you were injured by a defective product does not mean that you should attempt to file a claim on your own. Again, a South Carolina defective products lawyer can help you evaluate the evidence surrounding your claim, identify all possible liable parties, and fight to ensure that you receive the full amount of damages that you deserve.

About South Carolina Defective Products Lawsuits

Some companies put profits before people’s safety, and they rush products to market without performing sufficient safety tests, or they choose less expensive — and less safe — design alternatives. In other instances, manufacturers’ production lines might lack the necessary quality controls, allowing dangerously defective products to make it to the marketplace.

There are other products that are inherently unsafe but useful — think of power tools or lawnmowers — but they are “defective” because the manufacturer fails to warn about the dangers posed or fails to provide complete instructions on how to use the item safely.

These are examples of the three main types of defective products that result in product liability lawsuits:

• Defective design ­— A product that is inherently unsafe because of the way it was designed, and not due to any defect in the manufacturing process.
• Manufacturing defect — Although the product, as designed, would be reasonably safe, there was some flaw during the manufacturing process that caused the affected units to be dangerous. Other products of the same design but lacking manufacturing defects are reasonably safe.
• Failure to warn — This is an issue when a product is inherently unsafe because those dangerous characteristics are precisely what make the product useful. Liability arises when the manufacturer or other parties in the chain fail to properly warn the consumer or end-user about the dangers posed or fail to give proper instructions on how to use the product safely.

When a consumer or end-user suffers an injury because of a product defect, South Carolina law allows them to sue for damages. A defective product lawsuit can be brought against the manufacturer, wholesaler, and retailer who sold the item. Under South Carolina law, manufacturers and sellers of defective products are held strictly liable for damages and injuries caused by the product’s defect.

In any defective product lawsuit, it is key to establish that the defect was the source of the person’s injury. It is very important to preserve the product in question in the condition it was in when the accident occurred. It is also frequently necessary to have experts inspect the product to detail how it should have been made safer. The attorneys at Joye Law Firm Injury Lawyers have the resources to assist you with this type of expert analysis.

South Carolina law also requires you to bring a defective product lawsuit within three years of the date of the injury.