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A product liability claim can
be one of the most complex cases an injured person can bring.
In North Carolina, product liability claims are governed by
North Carolina General Statute 99B. Generally in North
Carolina, an injured person can only bring a claim based on
negligence against the manufacturer. These cases often fall
into three categories:
Manufacturing Defect. In
these cases, a defect in the way the product was manufactured
causes the injury. An example would be a lawn mower blade that
is made with a crack in it, which breaks when used, causing
injury.
Design Defect. In these
cases, a poor design causes injury to the person. In North
Carolina, the injured person must prove that the manufacturer
acted unreasonably in designing the product, that this conduct
proximately caused the injury, and one of the following:
- the manufacturer
unreasonably failed to adopt a safer, practical, feasible
and otherwise reasonable design and that the better design
would have prevented or substantially reduced the risk of
harm without substantially impairing the usefulness,
practicality or desirability of the product, or
- the design of the product
was so unreasonable that a reasonable person, aware of the
facts, would not use or consume a product of this design.
A common example would be a
piece of industrial machinery which was built without some
proper safety guards or protection devices.
Inadequate Warning.
These cases refer to injuries caused as a result of a product
which was sold without a proper warning to the consumer. In
North Carolina, an injured person must prove that the
manufacture acted unreasonably in failing to provide such a
warning, that the failure to provide such warning proximately
caused the injury, and also one of the following:
- when the product without an
adequate warning left control of the manufacturer, it
created an unreasonably dangerous condition that the
manufacturer knew, or should have known, posed a
substantial risk of harm, or
- after the product left the
manufacturer’s control, the manufacturer became aware of
or should have known that the product posed a substantial
risk of harm to a reasonably foreseeable user and failed
to take reasonable steps to give adequate warning.
In North Carolina, there is no
duty to warn about an open and obvious risk that is a matter
of common knowledge.
If you or a family member has
been injured because of what you believe is a defective
product, you should
consult an attorney familiar with product
liability / defective product cases at the earliest
opportunity to protect your right of recovery.
Product Liability FAQsWhat is product liability?
Who can bring a product defect
lawsuit?
Who can be held accountable in
a product defect case?
What types of damages may be
sought in a product liability lawsuit?
How do I prove a product is
defective?
Do I need a lawyer in a
product liability case?
Can I bring a product
liability claim against a manufacturer for incorrect product
labeling?
Is there a Federal product
defect law?
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