When a negligent driver causes a serious car accident in Birmingham, finding out exactly what they did that led to the crash is usually fairly simple. For example, the police might find that the driver was over the legal limit for alcohol or that they were texting on their phone seconds before impact.
Evidence of how or why a company designed or manufactured a defective product is more difficult to find. Victims rarely have the time or resources to uncover the inner workings of a negligent business. For example, how could the average person ever find out about an auto maker’s process of designing a vehicle with defective brakes?
Relief from an impossible legal burden
Fortunately, the law does not stop you from seeking compensation because you cannot specifically show how a company is negligently responsible for your injuries. Under the legal doctrine of strict liability, you don’t need to prove that the responsible business was negligent in a products liability lawsuit. Instead, you have to show is the following:
- The product had an “unreasonably dangerous defect” in its design or manufacturing or that developed during packaging or shipping.
- That defect injured you while you used the product for its intended purpose.
- The product has not changed substantially from the condition in which it was originally sold.
The fact that a product is unreasonably dangerous for its intended purpose due to a defect is considered proof enough that one or more companies involved in its creation or sale acted negligently.
Still, products liability law is highly complex and technical. It is not always a simple matter to prove that a product is defective and unreasonably dangerous. Often, testimony from an expert witness is required.
