Florida laws are clear when it comes the differences in product liability cases. Understanding those differences can help your Florida attorney best serve your needs.

How do you know if you have the elements needed to file a successful product liability case in Florida? There are four important dynamics that must be present and include:

• A definitive loss of some kind. Did the victim suffer a loss of finances?
• A proximate cause is necessary, and this means the plaintiff must prove the defective product is why the injury occurred.
• A defect means it must be present, but it must also be the reason for the injury or loss.
• The product was being used as it was intended. If a defendant can prove a product was not used according to specifications, it is not responsible for any subsequent failures, injuries, or losses.

Of course, there’s more to it than proving these four elements, but without them, there is no case. Other considerations make up a product liability case as well, according to our product liability attorneys.

Every day, defective products are discovered, and unfortunately, for thousands of those discoveries, they come with serious injuries. Vehicles are recalled, foods are tampered with, or otherwise damaged which leads to illnesses or worse, and even poorly constructed homes and vehicles result in injuries in Florida and elsewhere. There are typically three types of product liability cases recognized by Florida courts.

Manufacturing Defects

The most common defect is the manufacturing defect. These lawsuits are based on errors made during the manufacturing efforts, and those errors made the product not safe. It may be a poor design or weak materials used in the manufacturing. A product is deemed unreasonably dangerous when it fails to do what it was created to provide.

There are literally thousands of manufacturing defects each year. Some go unnoticed others can cause significant injuries or illnesses or worse.

Design Defects

Design defects are those where the product has a dangerous design element that could cause damage or death. Volkswagen is an example of a design flaw with its many mistakes made that have resulted in consumer problems and lawsuits. Florida defines a defective product as one with conditions deemed unreasonably dangerous to a person or people and efforts to change the flaws are unheeded. Other states have similar statutes, and these types of liabilities often find themselves on a path to a courtroom. As is the case with Volkswagen, its problems go far beyond one state’s boundaries, and in fact, it has countless lawsuits in many different countries.

Defects in Warning Labels

These are a bit different in that a plaintiff states a product did not provide proper warnings and the manufacturer failed in its obligations to make those dangers know but failed to do so. An example of this kind of product liability case in Florida is the infamous hot coffee case. A McDonald’s customer suffered severe burns due to the hot coffee she was served. She sued the fast food chain and forced it to admit it didn’t warn its customers that its coffee is hot.

For more information, speak to a product liability lawyer today.