Product Liability

PRODUCT LIABILITY ATTORNEY IN LAFAYETTE, LA

Products come in many shapes, sizes, types and varieties and are used every day by consumers, workers and health care professionals. Oftentimes, products contain hidden defects that can cause serious injury, death or disfigurement. Manufacturers are legally responsible for the defects inherent in the products they manufacture. Whether because of a defect in design, composition or failure to provide an adequate warning, injuries and death do occur as a direct consequence of such defective products. Simon Law Offices handles a broad range of product liability cases and has been extraordinarily successful in the pursuit of protecting consumers. One of the more challenging cases in which Simon Law Offices was involved resulted in the largest jury award of its kind as a result of the death of a child after being administered Infant’s Tylenol, prompted the Louisiana legislature to take steps to regulate the ability to purchase Infant’s Tylenol as an over the counter medication and has served as a landmark case with national implications. Notably, Infant’s Tylenol is no longer manufactured in the same preparation as before. Countless lives have been saved nationwide as a result.

Whether because of a defective drug, defective automobile, defective ATV, defective industrial machine, defective appliances or defective medical device or implant, retaining the services of Simon Law Offices is as simple as making one phone call. Make the right call, call Simon Law Offices today.

Because defective products are oftentimes the cause of injury, Louisiana has enacted the Louisiana Products Liability Act. This act provides for the exclusive remedy and theories for manufacturers to held responsible for damages caused by their products. Pursuant to the LPLA one must prove that the product is question is unreasonably dangerous.

A product can be considered unreasonably dangerous due to
1. construction or composition
2. design
3. inadequate warning
4. non-conformance with an express warranty

To establish liability against a manufacturer of a product, four elements must be proven:
1. the defendant is the manufacturer of the product
2. the damage was approximately caused by the characteristic of the product
3. this characteristic made the product unreasonably dangerous
4. the claimant’s damage arose from a reasonably anticipated use of the product by the claimant or someone else

CONSTRUCTION AND DESIGN
To prevail on a claim based upon the construction of the product, it must be proven that, at the time the product left the manufacturer’s control, it deviated in a material way from the specifications or performance standards for the product or from an otherwise identical product manufactured by the manufacturer. To prevail on a claim based upon the design of the product, it must be proven that, at the time the product left the manufacturer’s control, there existed either an alternative design that was safer or the likelihood the design would cause damage and the gravity of the damage outweighed the burden of using a different design.

INADEQUATE WARNING
To prevail on a claim based upon an inadequate warning, it must be proven that, at the time the product left its manufacturers’ control, the product possessed a characteristic that may cause damage, and that the manufacturer failed to use reasonable care to provide an adequate warning of its characteristic and its danger to users and handlers of the product.

EXPRESS WARRANTY
To prevail on a claim based upon non-conformance with an express warranty, it must be proven that the product failed to perform as voluntarily guaranteed by the manufacturer and extended to the customer.

Cle’ Simon

For more than 75 years the Simon family has carried on a family tradition of restoring lives in local communities and throughout the stat of Louisiana. At Simon Law Offices, I have proudly embraced this tradition and strive every day to continue the legacy. Simon Law Offices are Cajun Strong and restoring lives throughout Louisiana, one client at a time.

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