When someone says they suffered an injury after using one of your California business’s products, they may attempt to hold you responsible by filing a product liability claim against you.
According to Medium.com, to claim that your product caused him or her harm, a consumer must be able to show that the product in question met specific criteria. He or she must also follow a specific timeline to make a formal claim against your business.
Proving defectiveness in a product
To prove your product is defective and dangerous, a consumer may have to show that the item has a poor design and that this poor design was the reason for the injury. If the consumer asserts that his or her injury was the result of poor manufacturing, rather than poor product design, he or she must show how the manufacturing problem caused the injury.
If someone claims to suffer an injury due to your company neglecting to include clear instructions with your product, he or she must show how your directions are difficult to understand.
Adhering to the statute of limitations
When someone wishes to file a product liability lawsuit against you in California, he or she has two years from the date the injury took place to do so. In some cases, though, the Discovery Rule may apply. In brief, the Discovery Rule gives claimants two years to file a claim starting from the date they should have uncovered the injury. The Discovery Rule may come into play in cases where injuries or illnesses alleged to be the result of a particular product develop slowly over time.
