If you or someone you know has been injured as a result of a defective product, you may have a product liability claim against the manufacturer, seller, and/or distributor of the product.

In Nevada, California and many other states, there are three ways in which a manufacturer can be held liable for damages caused by one of its products.  First, the manufacturer can be negligent in how the product was originally designed or constructed.  To establish negligence, you must show that the manufacturer used inferior procedures or poor materials in designing or creating the product.  Second, the manufacturer can be held responsible if it breached an express or implied warranty regarding the product’s fitness for use.  To establish breach of warranty, you must prove that the manufacturer failed to live up to the express or implied promises that were made about the product.  Third, the manufacturer may be held strictly liable for its defective product.  To prove strict liability, you do not have to establish that the manufacturer was directly at fault.  All you have to do is prove that the product was defective when it left the manufacturer’s custody or control, or that there were not appropriate warnings given concerning its dangerous nature.

Sometimes, products will be sold with a disclaimer that says the manufacturer is not responsible for certain problems.  That does NOT mean you don’t have a case. Oftentimes, Court and consumer protection laws override such disclaimers – because they violate public policy.  

In a product defect case Mr. Achrem took to trial several years ago in federal court, a young woman sustained serious brain damage and other permanent injuries when her airbag failed to deploy during a 30+ mph frontal collision with a power pole.  During the trial, Mr. Achrem used the Owner’s Manual to prove that his client’s airbag had been specifically designed to deploy during a “moderate-to-severe frontal collision.”  He then showed each defense expert a photograph of his client’s vehicle that had been taken after the crash and asked them whether they believed this was at least a “moderate-to-severe frontal collision.”  Every one of them agreed that it was. 

Following a one month trial, the jury came back with a unanimous, multi-million dollar verdict in favor of the Plaintiff.  Although the airbag manufacturer appealed the award, the  the jury’s verdict was unanimously upheld by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal.

With more than 43 years of trial experience, and counting, Edward J. Achrem & Associates has the training, personnel, expertise and financial resources to handle complex product liability cases.  We can be reached at (702) 734-3936, or at (888) 734-6789 if you’re outside Nevada.