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Maryland Association of Justice 
Washington DC Products Liability Lawyer
When you buy a product, you expect to be able to use it in the manner the manufacturer designed it to be used, and not suffer any injuries or damages. While many salesmen may have the attitude of "Let the buyer beware", this does not hold up in a court of law. This is where strict product liability laws come into play.
Product liability laws cover issues such as negligence, breach of warranty, and misrepresentation. If you have a product that has caused damage or injury, or that could cause damage and injury, due to faulty manufacture or handling of the product by the manufacturer, it would fall under the negligence issue. When you buy a product that does not work as it should, or breaks, and you try to get the item replaced but the company will not replace or fix the item, you have a cause of action against the company for breach of warranty. Misrepresentation comes into play if the product was sold to do something, or offered at a certain price, and then it did not perform or the price was higher than advertised. Product liability does not only cover physical items, but services too.
There are times when a product is faulty due to no negligence on the part of a manufacturer, things sometimes do happen that could not be foreseen. In this case a reputable company will issue a recall for the item. If you have not had any injury or damage due to the product it is then your responsibility to follow the manufacturer's directions as to how to get the issue taken care of. This will usually happen after someone has initiated a cause of action, and the manufacturer was found to be not at fault. There has already been an investigation into the matter and anyone that had injury or damage has been compensated for it. If, however, the company is found to be at fault it would be in your best interest to have an attorney look over all the evidence and proceed to file the complaint. You can guarantee that the manufacturer will have attorneys to try and minimize any damages the company may incur, as well as attorneys for the insurance company that covers the manufacturer. Depending on the damages, the responsible companies could be seriously hurt by any legal determinations.
A breach of warranty is not usually of the magnitude of a negligence case, but still, you have rights. The company offering the warranty will use lawyers to try and establish that the product or service was somehow broken or disabled by you. If the monetary value of the product is big enough, or if an attorney feels the situation is something that will affect many people bought the product, they will work with you to get the product fixed or replaced.
Misrepresentation cases usually involve the vendor of the product, and not the manufacturer. Do not let a salesperson tell you one thing and then find out it is not true when you get the product home. This problem is what has lead the public to feel that salesmen are all out to cheat people out of their money. A good attorney can step in and stop that type of business before it gets out of hand.
If you feel you have any type of product liability case please contact our law firm for a free case evaluation.