Increased Product Liability Claims During the Holiday Season
Holidays are often considered to be the best days of the year. Friends, family, food, and festivities give you all the reasons to be happy. You may be planning to visit a new place, or you are eagerly waiting to exchange gifts with your loved ones.
Unfortunately, our plans do not always go the way we want them to. The statistics reveal that during the holiday season, accidents in general are on the rise. This includes motor vehicle accidents, pedestrian injuries and accidents, slip and fall injuries, as well as injuries caused by defective products.
Common Consumer Products That Can Cause Injury
When exchanging gifts during this festive season, remember that any product you bring to your home can create a risk of injury. The most common products that are reported to result in severe injuries include:
- Toys
- Furniture
- Laptops
- Vehicles and car accessories
- Consumables
- Hoverboards and
- Personal electronics
Although you may be compensated for an injury, not all product injuries will be compensated. For example, if you are given a bike this Christmas, then get injured because you were ignorant about its shifting mechanism, you are likely not going to be compensated for your losses. Nonetheless, if you get into an accident because of a defective shifting mechanism, you will have a better chance of filling the claim and obtaining a settlement.
Types of Product Liability Claims
- Defectively manufactured products
Manufacturing defects occur during the production or construction of an item. The error is unintentional, and it happens when a product departs from its intended design. In this defect, only a few of many similar products have flaws. For instance, a manufacturer may intend a chair to be stable but during its construction, one of its bolts may be bolted incorrectly thus causing an accident.
- Defectively designed products
In this category of product liability, the product’s design is considered defective or dangerous. Defective design claims show that the entire line of products is dangerous even though the injury-causing item was perfectly manufactured according to the designer’s specifications.
- Marketing or labelling defect
This defect occurs when you are inadequately warned or instructed on how to use a product. An example of this claim can be when an electric kettle is packaged without informing you about its oddly placed steam valve.
Contact Hilton & Somer, LLC: Virginia, Maryland & D.C. Product Liability Attorneys
If you or a loved one has been injured in a product liability accident, it’s important to speak to our product liability lawyers as soon as possible. You may be entitled to compensation for your pain and suffering, physical injuries, lost wages, medical bills, and other damages. Contact Hilton & Somer, LLC today to schedule your free consultation. You can reach us through our online contact form, or by calling (703) 560-0700.
