Product Liability and Packaging Issues

When you make a purchase, whether you’re buying a toy for your child, a kitchen appliance, a gardening tool, or something else, you expect it to work, and you expect it to be safe to use. Dangerous products can cause serious injuries, and negligent manufacturers, distributors, and sellers should be held accountable for losses. While most product liability claims are based on the products themselves, there is a chance you could have a case based on a packaging issue.

The Importance of Packaging Design

Packaging design is something companies focus extensively on. For one, companies use packaging to attract customers to their products. It’s also important for packaging to be safe, easy to use and handle, and easy to dispose of or recycle. Product packages are also supposed to include clear, complete instructions for product usage. The information may be included outside the packaging, or a detailed manual could be on the inside.

Companies are responsible for ensuring their goods are packaged safely during the research and development stage. Designers need to figure out if there are any inherent risks to the finished product. If there are, they need to be fully outlined on the packing. Overall, packing should service the following functions:

• Poor protection can result in a damaged product, especially when the damage is not obvious. Even if the product is safe, inadequate protective packaging can cause injuries.
• Aspects of the package communicate with consumers. The materials, shape, size, and colors all mean something. If adequate warning and instructions are not clearly communicated, injuries can occur.
• A package’s utility is the measure of how easy it is for a consumer to interact with it. This includes opening and closing, dispensing, handling, storage, disposal, and reuse.

If you’re injured because of a packaging design, it’s important to identify the design flaw and what is dangerous about it.

Defective Packaging Examples

Packaging defects can be challenging to identify, so we’ll take a look at some of the most common examples here. No matter what the defect, our attorney can investigate your incident and determine what happened.

Examples of packaging defects include failure to instruct the user on weight distribution, deceptively similar packaging on pharmaceuticals, a lack of warning of the toxicity of a product, and not warning the user that ventilation or an open environment is needed to use a product safely.

If you pursue a dangerous packaging claim, we can look to hire an expert on your behalf to determine how you were injured. Packaging is a complex discipline. An expert will consider a number of factors, including breadth and variety, projects, regulations, therapy and practice, related fields, and communications to determine what went wrong and why.

Building a Packaging Liability Claim

Product liability claims are typically based on negligence or strict liability. The type of defect will affect how you prove your injuries should never have happened. There are three possible defects with any product liability claim: design defects, manufacturing defects, and marketing defects.

Marketing defects relate directly to the warning and instructions that are included with a product. Packaging defects are a unique aspect of marketing defects. A product’s packaging is technically its own product, as well as a method of communication to the consumer as to the potential dangers of the product they are buying to use.

If you choose to pursue a product liability claim based on a packaging issue, you’ll want to work with an attorney who is well-versed in dangerous or hazardous products. When you get in touch with Thomas Law Offices, we’ll start by investigating the product you purchased and how the packaging injured you. Depending on the circumstances, we may need to contact outside resources to provide strict liability or negligence.

Once your claim has been filed and proven, you can seek compensation for your losses. Your compensation eligibility is based on your economic and noneconomic losses, like medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering. Working with an attorney gives you’re the best chances of recovering a full and fair monetary award.

Contact Thomas Law Offices

If you believe a packaging issue caused you harm, you may be able to pursue a product liability claim. To give yourself the best chances of success, you’ll want to work with a product liability attorney from Thomas Law Offices. When you get in touch with our law firm, we’ll review what you’ve been through, help you determine your legal options, guide you through the claims process, and fight for your rights to full and fair compensation. Contact us today to learn more.