All products sold to consumers are expected to be safe for use, this is standard practice, and manufacturers usually stick to it. But there are cases where the product is defective and leads to injury to the consumer. This situation where a manufacturer sells a faulty and potentially harmful product is known as product liability.
The liability is legally binding and mandates the manufacturer to offer “damages” to the affected consumer. Damages here refer to compensation to the consumer because of the injuries from using defective products.
If you have gotten injured due to your use of a product, you are entitled to the following settlements, depending on the injuries suffered.
Compensatory Damages
Compensatory damages are also known as actual damages and are meant to restore the affected individual to the state they were before using the defective product.
While this is mostly impossible, the dollar value is offered by the compensating party for every injury sustained. It is not a wholesome solution, but it provides a great assistance to the affected party.
Compensatory damages have different subtypes, depending on the nature of the injury you have suffered by consuming the faulty product.
There are two major types of compensatory damages; economic and non-economic damages.
Economic Damages
Economic damages includes the following
● Medical Bills: The product manufacturer is expected to cover the bills if you have a product-related injury or illness that requires medical care. This bill can include the cost of therapy and drugs. In addition, if your injury or illness is severe and needs extensive medical care, you can also demand future medical expenses.
● Cost of Adjusting: If your injury or illness results in life-changing effects, such as a disability that force you to make adjustments, you can demand the expenses for the adjustments to be covered by the manufacturer. These adjustments can include hiring help around the house or renovating your living space to accommodate your new situation. Make sure your legal counsel consists of these in your demands; you are entitled to them.
● Loss of wages or profits: if you incur injury or a life-threatening illness, you will have to skip work and, as such, lose income. You are entitled to those lost wages; you can demand them from the manufacturer. If it happens to be your own business, you can demand lost profit instead. If the injury or illness prevents you from working for a more extended period, you can demand a loss of future wages or profits.
● Repair or Replacement of Property: If the faulty product destroys your property, you can demand the cost of repair or replacement from the manufacturer.
Non-economic Damages
● Pain and anguish: While it might be tricky to ascertain the actual value of pain and suffering, you are entitled to substantial compensation. You can demand compensation for loss of enjoyment of life, anguish and pain that are a direct result of the injury or illness.There is no fixed monetary value for this, as it can change from case to case. As such, it is advisable to consult your legal counsel for the best possible deal.
● Loss of society: This is also referred to as “loss of consortium” and involves the impact of the defective product on your sexual relations, emotional support, companionship and affection.These injuries or illnesses can adversely affect you and your relationships; like this, your spouse can also petition for loss of consortium.
If you are considering filing for damages for injury due to product liability, speak to an experienced attorney here.