While the odds may seem stacked against you when taking on powerful companies and their legal teams, The Terry Law Firm can help shift the balance of power to the side of consumers. Since 1960, we have fought for people injured by faulty products in Tennessee and have recovered numerous multi-million-dollar settlements and verdicts for them.
Contact us today for a free consultation to discuss your legal options with a Tennessee product liability attorney.
What Is Product Liability?
Product liability refers to personal injury, wrongful death, and other claims arising from injuries caused by a defective or unreasonably dangerous product.
Product liability is based on the idea that products should not harm consumers and that businesses should be held responsible for defective products. A product liability claim is a type of personal injury claim that seeks compensation for injured product users from parties along the chain of manufacture, including:
- The manufacturer of component parts
- Assembling manufacturers
- Product designers
- Distributors
- Wholesalers
- Retail store owners
- Any party that modified or repaired the product
Common Types of Product Defects and Product Liability Cases We Handle
A product liability claim may arise from three types of product defects: design, manufacturing, and marketing:
- A design defect occurs when a product’s design or specifications render it inherently dangerous or unsafe, even when constructed according to specifications. Design defects affect all examples of a product sharing a particular specification or design.
- A manufacturing defect occurs when an error arises during the fabrication or assembly process or when a product includes substandard materials, which renders the product dangerous or unsafe. A manufacturing defect may affect a single example of a product or an entire production run.
- A marketing defect, also called a failure-to-warn or informational defect, occurs when a manufacturer or retailer sells a product with inadequate instructions for its safe use. A marketing defect may also occur when a manufacturer or retailer provides insufficient warnings of the inherent risks of using the product, and the injured user either wouldn’t have used it or would have altered how they used it if they had received adequate warnings.
Types of Defects
Product liability claims can be brought for three basic types of defects:
- Manufacturing defect: Defectively manufactured products have a flaw in the way they were made, such as substandard or defective materials, improper assembly, missing or loose parts, or, in the case of food, contaminated ingredients. A manufacturing defect can affect all units of the same product line, or it can be limited to a certain batch or batches.
- Design defect: A product may be defective due to a design flaw. Defectively designed products are unreasonably dangerous even when they meet manufacturing standards. The defective design makes the entire product line unsafe. Design must take into account the product’s intended use, as well as reasonably foreseeable uses and misuses. To establish a defective design claim, an injured person may be required to prove that a safer design alternative existed at the time of manufacture.
- Marketing defect: Also known as a “failure to warn” claim, a marketing defect claim asserts that a product is unsafe because the manufacturer did not provide adequate product instructions, labels, or warnings. This type of claim focuses on what the manufacturer knew — or should have known — about a given risk or danger of the product.
Our attorneys represent injured consumers in claims involving:
- All-terrain vehicles (ATVs)
- Auto defects
- Product manufacturers
- Medical devices
- Pharmaceutical products
- Explosions
- Household appliances
- Toys and children’s products
- Food
The Terry Law Firm has obtained significant product liability recoveries that include:
- $15 million for a roof crush incident that led to paralysis
- $6.5 million for a faulty airbag
- $800,000 for defective industrial machine injuries
- $750,000 for crush injuries while working on a defective machine
- $450,000 for a defective laundry press
What Is the Product Liability Law in Tennessee?
In Tennessee, a product liability action is a legal claim filed after harm resulting from the manufacture, design, construction, assembly, preparation, testing, warning, instruction, marketing, packaging, or labeling of a product. If you suffer injuries due to defective products, you may file a product liability claim against the manufacturer or other responsible party.
To succeed in a product liability claim, you must typically prove that the product that injured you was defective or in an unreasonably dangerous condition when it left the manufacturer’s or seller’s control. However, you may also pursue a claim based on the idea that the product lacked sufficient warning labels or instructions, or that it was marketed in a dangerous or misleading way.
In most cases, a plaintiff’s product liability lawsuit is based on one or more of the following theories of liability:
- Negligence – Negligence is the failure to exercise ordinary care. An injured person must show that a company owed them a duty of care; that the company breached the duty of care owed; and that the injury would not have occurred but for the breach of care. In general, the duty to exercise ordinary care exists at every stage along the chain of distribution, including a product’s design, manufacture, packaging, labeling, and sale.
- Strict liability – Strict liability takes a much more straightforward approach than a negligence claim. It ignores the question of manufacturer conduct and focuses on two factors: (1) the product was defective, and (2) the product defect caused the injury.
- Breach of warranty – A breach of warranty claim is based on contract law. The warranty may be expressed or implied. If the purchaser can prove the existence of a product warranty, they can then argue that the seller did not fulfill the warranty terms.
Product liability plaintiffs usually name as many defendants and as many causes of action as possible. This strategy can lead to more information being revealed during litigation and more potential sources of compensation.
Who Can Be Held Liable in a Tennessee Product Liability Lawsuit?
Tennessee law typically holds the manufacturer of a defective or dangerous product solely liable for injuries caused by the product. However, other parties in the chain of commerce to bring the product to market, such as distributors, wholesalers, and retailers, may bear liability if those parties exercised substantial control over the design, manufacture, testing, packaging, or labeling of the product, altered or modified the product and made it dangerous or defective, or gave an express warranty. Another party may also bear liability if Tennessee courts do not have jurisdiction over the manufacturer or if a court has declared the manufacturer insolvent.
Regarding product safety, regulators usually have far less power and resources than the companies they regulate. Companies perform their own safety testing and voluntarily issue recalls when products turn out to be dangerous. Sometimes, they make a calculated assessment of whether it is cheaper to fix a problem or to cover it up and let the public suffer the consequences.
Not every injury or death associated with a consumer product is necessarily caused by a defect. However, many injuries and deaths each year do result from products with design, manufacturing, or marketing defects. The civil justice system is instrumental in holding defective product makers accountable. A successful product liability claim can bring financial relief to the victim, and it also shines a light on bad corporate behavior that would otherwise never be exposed.
Tennessee Product Liability Damages
Injured consumers may be able to recover three types of damages in a product liability case:
- Economic damages for medical bills, lost wages, property damage, and other monetary losses
- Non-economic damages for physical pain and suffering and mental anguish
- Punitive damages in cases where the defendant’s conduct is deemed to be egregious
Our Tennessee product liability attorneys work closely with experts to calculate the past and future damages that a consumer is owed for a defective product injury. Recovering future damages is especially important for victims whose injuries lead to long-term care, disability, disfigurement, and extensive missed work time.
Our law firm’s priority is to aggressively pursue full and fair financial compensation for your product liability case. This means taking your case to court, if necessary. Although we can’t guarantee a particular recovery amount, our past case results show our strong advocacy.
What to Do If a Defective Product Injures You or Your Family
After suffering injuries due to a defective product, you can protect your interests and legal options by:
- Seeking prompt medical attention for your injuries
- Preserving the product (if safe to do so) or photographing its condition
- Obtaining copies of your medical records
- Keeping all bills, invoices, and receipts of your recovery costs
- Gathering copies of your pay stubs or income statements to calculate your lost earnings if you miss time from work
- Contacting our product injury lawyers as soon as possible to discuss your rights to hold the manufacturer accountable
Statute of Limitations for Product Liability Claims in Tennessee
Tennesseans must file a product liability lawsuit within one year of the date they suffered an injury. Product-related wrongful death claims must be filed within one year of the date of death.
Failure to bring a product liability claim within the specified statute of limitations can result in the forfeiture of legal rights, making it critical to speak with our experienced product liability attorneys right away.
What Can Our Tennessee Products Liability Lawyers Do to Assist You?
A product injury attorney from The Terry Law Firm can help you by handling the details of preparing and pursuing your legal claims so you can focus on your treatment and rehabilitation. Let us fight to recover the compensation you need and deserve by:
- Investigating your claims and securing evidence
- Working with experts to explain the product’s defect or unreasonably dangerous nature
- Documenting your injuries and calculating your ongoing and future financial and personal losses
- Filing your claims and negotiating with corporate representatives and defense attorneys
- Going to court and trial when necessary
After you’ve suffered personal injuries due to a defective product, you may have the right to pursue financial recovery and accountability through a products liability claim. Contact The Terry Law Firm today for a free consultation with a knowledgeable Tennessee product liability lawyer.
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