Most people assume that items purchased from a retail store or online retailer will work the way they are intended to and will not cause them harm. While this is true for the majority of consumer products, there are times that a defective or malfunctioning product causes a consumer to be injured or even killed. If you were hurt or you have lost a loved one and you suspect that a defective product is to blame, you may be entitled to financial compensation.
Product Liability Basics
Products may contain three main types of defects under Illinois product liability law:
- Design defects: A design defect occurs before a product is manufactured. The inherent design of the product may be flawed in some way that makes the product dangerous – even when it is used as intended. A design defect will be present in an entire line of products.
- Manufacturing defects: A manufacturing defect occurs when something goes wrong during the manufacture or construction of a product. The defect may only affect some of the products.
- Inadequate consumer warnings: “Failure to warn” defects stem from a product containing inadequate warnings about potential hazards or insufficient instructions on how to the product safely.
If a defective product leads to someone’s injury or death, the company responsible for the defect may be liable for the harm caused by the defective product.
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