subject: Product Defects Can Prove Costly To Manufacturers [print this page] Manufacturers and manufacturing plants are open to a wide array of risks and exposures. Depending on the types of products being produced and sold, the risks vary, and if the item(s) in question can in some way cause injury if defective, this will likely be a major concern.
In order to minimize product liability exposure, or to defend productsafety, owners require manufacturers insurance to protect against claims in the event someone is indeed injured when using their product.
Product liability claims are part of the field oftort law.A product liability claim is one wherein a person contends that a particular product is defective in some way and that defect has produced injury to that plaintiff.
The No Prior Accidents Defense
Issues in product liability claims need to be thoroughly understood. The basic principles of safe product design are:
Design out any defect to eliminate hazard so that the product is deemed safe
If the hazard cannot be designed out, then build in safety devices to prevent injury
Provide warnings if such are necessary.
In most product liability cases the defendant will attempt to assert that there is no evidence of prior accidents. To rely upon that defense the defendant must establish that if there had been prior accidents the defendant would have known about them because:
1.There was in placea mechanism to check on the safety of the product, and
2.Several ways to determine whether or not there had in fact been accidents involving the product
The mere fact that the defendant has shown that thereis no evidence of any prior accidents may be a result of there being no record-keeping system in place to record complaints or to record actual accidents that are reported.
That foundational evidence must be established before evidence of a lack of prior accidents should be admissible.In general, in order to lay the proper foundation for a defense of no prior accidents the defendant must show:
It likely would have known of those prior accidents if they hadoccurred
The number ofunits sold and the extentof prior use
The proposed testimony must relate to substantially identical products used in similarcircumstances
Product Liability Insurance May Save a Business from Total Ruin
Defective products are simply part of the downside of the manufacturing industry. In Orlando, as in any other city, it is prudent for any company in this type of business to carry manufacturers insurance, which includes product liability, to ensure that, if a lawsuit arises claiming injury from a defective product, that company will not go under as a result of a lack of proper coverage Manufacturers.
