Product Liability Attorneys in Greensboro NC

Product Liability Attorneys in Greensboro NC

When we purchase products for ourselves and our families, we rarely think those products may be defective or inherently dangerous. We expect every toy we purchase for young children to be rigorously tested. We expect every medication we take to meet rigorous safety standards.

Unfortunately, consumers are frequently injured by defective and dangerous products. For example, in a single recent year, 59,000 emergency room-treated injuries were associated with – or directly caused by – nursery products for children younger than age five, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration received more than 2.1 million reports of adverse events associated with drugs and therapeutic products that year.

The law allows injured consumers to seek compensation for their injuries and other damages. The legal action is known as a product liability claim. The claim holds manufacturers and sellers liable when their negligence allows a defective or dangerous product to end up in the hands of consumers.

Pursuing a product liability claim in Greensboro or anywhere in North Carolina can prove to be a difficult task. A product liability claim requires the use of complex factual evidence and legal arguments. With a knowledgeable, experienced product liability attorney on your side, you have the best chance at securing maximum financial recovery.

Don’t wait another day to get the legal representation you need and deserve for your product liability claim. Contact us for a no-cost initial case review today with a Greensboro product liability lawyer at Ward Black Law. You will learn more about your legal rights and options to pursue compensation for your injuries and damages from a defective or dangerous product. We handle cases all across North Carolina.

What Is Product Liability?

“Product liability” refers to a legal claim. In that claim, a manufacturer, distributor, or retailer of a product can be held legally responsible for placing a defective product into the hands of a consumer who is then injured by that product.

A claim for product liability may be brought against any party in the “chain of commerce” of a product. The chain of commerce includes the manufacturer of the product, any distributors of the product, and the retailer who sells the product to the user.

A product liability claim may be brought by the original purchaser of the product, or by family members, guest, or employees of the original purchaser.

Under product liability law, products must meet the ordinary expectations of consumers – namely, that products will be safe for their intended use. A product may be shown as defective or dangerous in North Carolina generally under one of three legal theories:

  • Design defect – The product was designed in a way that makes it inherently dangerous or unsafe to users. Design defects affect all copies of the product sharing that design.
  • Manufacturing defect – An error during the production process rendered the product dangerous or unsafe to users. Manufacturing defects may be limited to a single example of a product or the entire production run of a product.
  • Failure to warn – The manufacturer or retailer failed to instruct the user of the safe use or operation of the product or warn of the risks and dangers in using the product.

In North Carolina, a consumer who is injured by a defective product must prove that the manufacturer or seller was negligent in placing a defective product in the hands of the consumer. North Carolina’s product liability law differs from other states, which allow an injured consumer to bring a product liability claim under a theory of strict liability. Under that theory, the consumer only needs to prove that the product was dangerous or defective. The consumer does not need to show that a manufacturer, distributor or seller committed a negligent act or omission.

North Carolina does not follow that theory. As a result, manufacturers and sellers have multiple legal defenses they can raise to a product liability case in North Carolina. Those defenses include:

  • A seller sold the product in a sealed container and had no reason to believe the product was defective.
  • The product was altered by a third party (unless the alterations were made according to manufacturer instructions).
  • The manufacturer or seller did not have a reasonable opportunity to warn the purchaser of the risks of the product.
  • Use of the product posed an open and obvious risk and the user used the product in a careless manner.
  • The user contributed to their injury by using the product contrary to instructions, by using a product the user knew was defective, or the user failed to exercise reasonable care in using the product.