Defective Product Claims For Compensation

In this sunny weather we have been having lately, you can imagine how embarrassing it would be after coming home from buying new garden furniture if the chair you just bought collapses from underneath you.

It is not uncommon for people to be injured as a result of these sorts of accidents involving defective products, and in many cases you have to just laugh off the embarrassment; but on occasions you should be contemplating what legal action could be available for you to take if you are injured. By law, any goods purchased should be to satisfactory according to the Sale and Supply of Goods and Services Act.

The Sale and Supply of Goods and Services Act provides the legal basis for ensuring the safety of consumers in the UK. You can also look at the European Product Safety Directive which makes it much easier to pursue a claim against a manufacturer of a product which causes an injury.

Who is Liable for the claim?

• The producer.
• The person who holds themselves out as being the producer, e.g. by putting their name or trademark on a product.
• The person who imports the product into a member state of the European Union from outside the European Union in the course of a business.
• The act also states that if any person who supplied a product cannot identify the source, he or she will be liable for the damage.

Is the product actually defective?

This all depends on the individual circumstances of each case, and depends on how it was sold, what the purpose of the product is, how much detail is provided in the instruction and what warnings are given, how long ago the product was sold, and how it was being used by the consumer.

A defective product can commonly fall within four main areas: is the product manufactured well?; is the product contaminated?; have warnings been provided or given in great detail?; and finally, if the producer deems the product as defective, have they done all they can to recall the item?

Have you been injured as a result of a defective product? Would you like free, no obligation advice? Please free feel to give us a call The Injury Lawyers on 0800 643 75 75 where one of our team are always on hand and happy to help you out.