Christmas is over and your children are now breaking in their new toys. As your daughter is playing with her new toy, she suddenly cries out in pain. You notice a large gash on the palm of her hand. You rush her to the emergency room where the wound requires stitches. Later, you discover that the cause of the gash came from an extremely sharp edge on the new toy. Is this a case of a product liability?
Before we answer this question, let’s first discuss what a product liability claim is. A claim of this nature can be filed if the following are true about the product:
- The product was defective and caused your injury
- You were using the product as it was intended
- You were injured and suffered some kind of loss
Defective product liability cases can be complex. You have to prove that the product was faulty and caused the injury, which can be hard to show, especially without the right lawyer by your side.
So how can you prove that the toy not only was used properly but caused the injury? If we look at the rules for a strict liability claim, you can see that you have a case. According to strict liability, a claim can be made if the following conditions have been met:
- The product had an “unreasonably dangerous” defect that injured you as a user of the product. For instance, that sharp edge on your daughter’s toy was dangerous enough that it injured her while she was using the toy.
- The defect had caused an injury while the product was being used in its intended way. You know your daughter was playing with the toy as it was meant to be played.
- The product hadn’t changed substantially from the condition it was originally sold. This was a new toy that you bought from a store only a week or two ago.
If you believe that you have a product liability claim, it’s important to speak to an experienced personal injury attorney about your case. Contact a Houston product liability lawyer at de Lachica Law Firm today for a free consultation.