Normal use of a consumer product should never cause you serious injury. However, that is exactly what happens to hundreds of people every year, most of whom get hurt before the company that made and sold the dangerous product acknowledges that anything is wrong.
A Pensacola product liability lawyer could help you recover compensation from the manufacturer through a civil claim if you were recently injured by a defective product. Support from a skilled personal injury attorney dedicated to your case could be the key to maximizing the damages you recover.
Strict Liability for Defective Product Injuries
While a traditional claim of negligence could be used to hold product manufacturers liable for putting dangerous products on the market, product liability lawsuits apply the theory of strict liability for product defects. This means manufacturers are automatically held liable for injuries if the following conditions are met:
- The manufacturer made a product with a serious flaw in its core design, an error made during assembly, or a dangerous lack of instructions for how to use the product safely
- The defect existed in the product when it left the manufacturer’s direct control
- The product’s condition did not meaningfully change between when it left the manufacturer’s control and when the consumer was injured by it
- The injured consumer was using the product in a reasonable way when they were injured
In Pensacola, it is also possible to hold manufacturers liable for breach of warranty, although this is less common than a typical product liability case, as our attorneys could explain during an initial consultation.
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What Time Limits Apply to Product Liability Claims?
Since product liability law is a subset of standard personal injury law, the same statute of limitations applies to defective product claims as to most other types of injury cases. Florida Statute § 95.11 provides a maximum of two years to sue a manufacturer over an injury caused by a defective product, starting from the date on which you first suffered—or, in some cases, first discovered or reasonably should have discovered—your injuries.
However, FL Stat. § 95.031 codifies a statute of repose, which presumes that virtually all consumer products have a useful shelf life of 10 years and prohibits product owners from suing over a defect more than 12 years after they originally purchased and took possession of the product. Our Pensacola defective product lawyers could help you navigate this additional product liability legislation.
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Get Help From a Product Liability Attorney in Pensacola Today
Manufacturer warnings and recall notices are often not enough to prevent someone from being injured by a dangerous product. You could file a damages claim if you were injured in this way—but getting a positive result may be hard to manage on your own.
Our team takes pride in our client-focused approach that prioritizes personal attention, together with securing the best possible outcome for the clients we represent. Call today to learn what a Pensacola product liability lawyer from Fasig | Brooks could do to help you obtain the compensation you deserve.
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