Defective product liability lawsuits cover injuries resulting from a product design or manufacturing issue. Improper product labeling can also create this type of liability.
If you or a family member has sustained an injury in a defective product accident, learn more about seeking legal damages for your medical costs and lost wages in Connecticut.
Types of product liability claims
In Connecticut, consumers can file this type of lawsuit based on breach of a warranty, strict liability and negligence under the state’s Product Liability Act. The plaintiff must prove that his or her injury resulted from a flawed design, a failure to warn him or her about the danger of the product, or a manufacturing defect.
Connecticut’s Product Liability Act allows people to file claims due to strict liability, negligence and breach of warranty. Legal actions may include a claim of a design flaw, a manufacturing defect, and/or a failure to provide adequate instructions or warnings. Playground accidents, tainted over-the-counter medications and automobile accidents caused by vehicle defects all fall into the category of product liability. Recently, Johnson and Johnson settled a case set to go on trial in Connecticut in which women developed ovarian cancer after using the brand’s talcum powder.
Pure comparative negligence
Even if you share some fault for the injuries, you can still seek partial damages under the Connecticut pure comparative negligence law. However, the court will reduce your financial award by your level of fault. For example, if you are 20% at fault for the incident because you did not read the product directions closely, you would receive 80% of your total damage amount.
Statute of limitations
You must file a product liability lawsuit within three years from the date of the injury. However, if you do not discover the injury until months or years after the incident, the statute of limitations extends to 10 years. For this reason, Connecticut consumers considering a product liability case should quickly gather the medical documentation to support their case.