Illinois Defective Products Lawyer

Product Liability Claims in Chicago

When products are improperly constructed, designed, or manufactured, the potential harm they can cause cannot be taken lightly. Products might be defective in several different ways, but each can cause health hazards, resulting in expensive costs for an injured plaintiff.

A product liability claim seeks to hold the manufacturer financially responsible for dangerous products. An unreasonably dangerous object or good sold to consumers may be evidence of the manufacturer’s negligence, and filing a claim could be a step in taking it off the market. State law permits three main forms of defective product lawsuits.

Failure to Warn Claims

In a failure to warn claim, the injured party asserts that the dangerous nature of the product caused their injury, and that the manufacturer should have warned users of the dangerous element of the product. Had the danger been properly presented to the plaintiff, they could have made their own choice about whether to purchase it.

A common failure to warn claim might come from a dangerous drug, where a company knew or should have known of the side effect and purposely failed to warn of it to increase their profits.

Defects in Design

Some products are unreasonably dangerous because of the negligent way they were designed. At the outset, the product is unsafe even when constructed according to the design. Importantly, expert evidence is nearly always required in these types of claims to prove the defect was in the design and that the defect was the cause of the plaintiff’s harms.

In these cases, the product is often considered “inherently dangerous” due to the designers’ mistakes. An attorney’s specialized training and experience in Chicago product liability claims may serve to greatly enhance a plaintiff’s potential success in a design defect claim.

Defects in Manufacturing

If the product is designed properly but constructed improperly, the manufacturer could instead be held liable. This can happen as the result of the following:

• Unclean or unsanitary conditions
• Use of improper or unsafe materials
• Improper construction
• Employee error
• Machining mistakes
• Negligent hiring, training, or supervision of employees or processes

If the product was defective because of one or many of these errors, a Chicago lawyer could gather and provide evidence on a plaintiff’s behalf to hold the manufacturer liable.

How Might Defendants Attempt to Blame the Plaintiff in a Defective Product Claim?

A common defense tactic in defective product cases is to allege that the plaintiff’s own negligence caused their harm, whether partially or in whole. Defendants might claim the plaintiff did not properly use the product, or that they altered the product in some way that made it dangerous.

735 Illinois Compiled Statutes 5/2-1116 sets forth the state law for comparative fault determinations. If a plaintiff is 51 percent or more at fault for their own injuries, they are not able to collect any damages.

However, if they are 50 percent or less at fault, they can still recover subject to reduction by the percentage of their own fault. Fault is determined by the jury or judge, depending on the trier of fact in the plaintiff’s case. A local lawyer could further explain comparative fault and its processes in relation to a claimant’s case.

Contact a Chicago Defective Products Attorney Today

Defective product lawsuits are often complicated and can be frustrating for the injured parties. These claims require the expert understanding of facts, specialized witnesses, and navigation of complex legal procedures that skilled legal representation can provide.