The RVA Injury Lawyers™
Product Liability Lawyer Richmond
Who Pays the Compensation in a Product Liability Lawsuit?
Virginia consumers have the right to expect all products to be safe for the product’s intended purpose and reasonably foreseeable uses. If you receive an injury from a defective product, you may have a product liability claim for compensation. Our defective product attorneys at Renfro & Renfro will make certain that you receive the full financial recovery that you deserve. If you need a product liability lawyer, we serve clients throughout the metro area and Commonwealth of Virginia from our Richmond office.
Injuries from a defective product can significantly impact your personal life and work. To allow you to focus on recovering instead of worrying about pursuing your product liability claim, our lawyers and staff handle all the details necessary to get your compensation. From the outset, we build a close working relationship with each client. Our highly responsive approach puts clients at ease and provides them with the confidence that their legal interests are fully protected. Our results-driven litigation strategy ensures diligent and vigorous representation at every stage of the process.
Anyone in the supply chain of a defective product may be legally liable for compensating an injured victim. If you’re injured by a defective product, you may have a claim against the manufacturer, wholesale seller, retail seller, or the supplier of a material or part used to make the product. If your injuries occur on the job, you also may have a workers’ compensation claim.
Determining the appropriate parties to sue is part of the investigation that our product liability attorneys conduct in a defective product case. The specific facts and circumstances of an injury and accident, as well as evaluation of the product itself, enter into making that assessment.
“The team is awesome! They were so friendly and helpful with the whole process. They made us feel like family! I would recommend them to anyone!”
Sylvia Bivins
3 Ways a Product Can Be Defective
To recover in a product liability claim, the injured individual must demonstrate that the product was defective. Standing alone, sustaining an injury from a product is insufficient — not all injuries from products support a product liability claim. The injured person must prove that the product is defective.
In Virginia, there are three ways that a product can be defective. The flaws that make a product defective may occur in (1) the product design or (2) the manufacturing process, or because (3) the manufacturer failed to provide inadequate instructions for product use or warnings of dangers in using the product.
Proving that a product satisfies one of the requirements for being defective usually requires delving deep into technical aspects relating to product design and manufacturing, as well as analyzing the hazards relating to product use. As such, a product liability claim frequently requires using experts to make the required evaluations. That is just one of the reasons that proving a defective product case is challenging and requires assistance from our skillful product liability attorneys at Renfro & Renfro.
Legal Theories For Liability in a Defective Product Case
Individual states establish the legal rules governing product liability actions within their jurisdiction. Some states impose strict liability in certain defective product cases, which means the manufacturer or other party is liable regardless of fault. The Commonwealth of Virginia does not impose strict liability in any defective product cases. Instead, there are two other legal theories for holding a party legally responsible for injuries caused by a defective product. A product liability claim may be based on either (1) negligence or (2) breach of warranty — or both.
For an action based on negligence, the injured victim must demonstrate that the manufacturer (or other party) was negligent and that the negligent conduct caused the injury. As part of the proving claim, the injured person must show that they were using the product as intended when the injury occurred. As in other personal injury negligence claims in Virginia, contributory negligence by the injured person prevents recovery of any compensation.
An action for breach of warranty is based on contract law. The breach may involve either an express or implied warranty. For a claim based on breach of an express warranty of merchantability, the injured person must prove reliance on the manufacturer’s representations about the product and its safety. A claim for breach of an implied warranty of merchantability is based on failure of the product to be fit for the ordinary purpose of the product.
A number of different defenses are available to a party facing a product liability claim, whichever legal theory the injured person uses. In addition, factual and legal issues in a defective product case typically are extremely complex. To succeed in recovering compensation for injuries from a defective product, it is essential for an injured individual to be represented by an experienced product liability lawyer.
Regardless of the nature of the defective product claim and the legal theory utilized in the case, Virginia law has statutes of limitation that require a product liability case to be brought within a specific period of time after the injury happens. In most cases, the time limit is two years, but it may be longer in certain situations. Under any circumstances, you should contact a lawyer about your potential defective product claim at the earliest possible time after you receive the injury.
Free Case Evaluation By Our Respected Richmond Injury Attorneys
If you suffer injuries from any product, and you think flaws or defects in the product caused the injury, you may be entitled to compensation under Virginia product liability law. Our experienced Richmond personal injury attorneys at Renfro & Renfro provide a free consultation and case evaluation for individuals injured by defective products. We also assist workers who receive on the job injuries, regardless of the cause, recover the workers’ compensation they deserve. If a worker is injured by a defective product, we help with both the product liability and workers’ comp aspects of the injury.
We serve clients in the Greater Richmond Region, including in Petersburg and Dinwiddie, and throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia. We welcome you to schedule a consultation by using our online form.
