Our national network of specialist personal injury solicitors will deal with product liability claims using the no win no fee scheme. We operate on the basis that compensation is always paid in full with no deductions. In addition we do not expect our clients to finance their claims in any way - win or lose there is absolutely nothing to pay. We offer a totally and completely guaranteed risk free service. If you would like some qualified advice either use the freephone helpline or complete and send the contact form and a solicitor will call to discus your claim with no charge and no further obligation. If, after discussing your case you decide not to proceed then that’s fine with us. Our free advice is given without any further liability or obligation.
The development of the law relating to product liability claims started in the 1930’s with a landmark case called Donahue v Stevenson wherein a shopkeeper was held to be liable to the consumer of tainted ginger beer notwithstanding that the consumer was not the purchaser of the drink. Since then there has been substantial domestic consumer protection legislation with further regulations imposed by the EC. In the past it was necessary to show that a manufacturer had been negligent in order to succeed in a personal injury compensation claim however current legislation removes the need to prove negligence and in addition anyone who is injured can make a claim whether or not they were the buyers of the goods in question. The main UK legislation is to be found in the Consumer Protection Act 1987 and the Product Liability (Amendment) Act (Northern Ireland) 2001
The fact that an item is of poor quality does not necessarily mean that it is a defective product which is determined when the safety of a manufactured item is below the standard that consumers are entitled to expect. Deciding whether goods fall within this legislation can be of paramount importance in a successful claim for compensation as there would be no necessity to prove negligence if the statute does apply. In deciding product liability claims a court will enquire about several factors including how and when the item was marketed, what instructions or warnings were applied to it or given with it, the purpose for which it was originally supplied and the purposes for which it might reasonably have been used. The mere fact that a manufacturer comes up with a more satisfactory item at a later date does not automatically maker the original item defective.
Defective mass produced articles can injure large numbers of people who can suffer similar injuries caused in a similar manner. When this occurs it may be possible to start a group action, also called multi-party action, also called class action whereby all injured sufferers get together and issue legal proceedings as one. This has the advantage of strength in numbers and reduces each individual’s legal costs enabling action to proceed that might not otherwise get started because of prohibitive investigatory or legal costs.
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