Defective products sold in North Carolina can cause inconvenience and injuries. Sometimes, a defective product only causes a minor problem like in the case of a kitchen appliance that doesn’t work. In other cases, defective products can cause severe injuries and even death. Some recent examples are Takata airbag inflators and Peloton treadmills.
In defective product liability claims, there are three main categories of product defects. Some products are sold with one type of defect while other products may have two or three.
Design defects
When there is a defect in product design, it means that the product concept itself was poorly tested. A design defect is a problem that never could have been fixed during manufacturing because the plans were wrong from the start. Sometimes a design defect involves the entire product, and sometimes the design defect only affects a piece of a product.
Manufacturing defects
A manufacturing defect means that something went wrong when a product was being made. The product concept itself may be perfect, but there was a mistake made in the manufacturing process. In some cases, a product manufacturer might use a defective component in its product that was made by another company.
Labeling defects
There are some products with inherent risks that can be mitigated with proper warning labels and instructions. Products that are mislabeled or missing critical warnings can be considered defective.
What to do if you were injured by a defective product
A company that sells defective products can be held liable for injuries that are caused by its products. If you were injured by a poorly designed or poorly made product, you may be able to file a personal injury claim for compensation.