PRODUCT LIABILITY LAW – CONSUMER GOODS

Consumers in Australia are protected by national product liability legislation, state & territory law and the common law of negligence & breach of contract. It used to be the case that a solicitor had to prove that a manufacturer had behaved negligently in order to win a claim however the law has changed and now consumer goods are deemed defective if that product does not provide the level of safety that is expected by the general community. Effectively your solicitor only needs to show that the user of a product was injured by ‘normal usage’. Explaining the technicalities involved in medical product law is not a simple task but our lawyers have significant experience in dealing with this sort of claim and operate a jargon-free policy so that everything is explained in plain English.

SOLICITORS HELPLINE 1800 221 167

Defective Product Law

Product liability law stipulates that there are three areas under which a company can be held to account regarding defective consumer goods.

1. Defective Design refers to the design aspects of a manufactured item defined as consumer goods. There must be an inherent danger in the device for it to be considered defective on a design basis.
2. Defective Information refers to inadequate warning labels, written information and alerts on consumer goods. If a product doesn’t carry the relevant warning then a consumer may not be fully aware of the danger. For some consumer goods warnings are needed if there are specific situations in which the device might fail, such as when getting too cold or hot.
3. Defective Manufacture governs the straight forward production of consumer goods which must be to an acceptable standard. Defective products are usually down to failure of adequate quality control.

SOLICITORS HELPLINE 1800 221 167

Forensic Experts

Our specialist team not only consists of lawyers who are experts in consumer product liability law but also includes expert scientific and medical witnesses who can provide specialist knowledge when required. We also have forensic experts who can investigate the product in question to help strengthen any legal case and provide useful information to a judge.

SOLICITORS HELPLINE 1800 221 167

Personal Injury Solicitors

We work under the ‘No win No Fee’ system and you never have to pay anything to make your claim. Before you do anything else you should seek free legal advice. Defective product claims is a niche area of the law which requires more than just general claims experience; our solicitors are highly qualified by virtue of the experience they bring with them having handled many complex, high value and high profile cases including some of the most infamous multi-party actions against some of the worlds largest multinational corporations both here and abroad. If you would like free advice from experts just complete the contact form, email our offices or use the helpline and a solicitor will give you free advice with no further obligation.