17 Apr Personal Injury by Defective Products (Defective Product Liability)
Any products produced or sold in Ireland when used as instructed should not cause a personal injury. If you have received a personal injury due to a faulty, damaged, or incorrectly advertised product you are entitled to compensation.
To make a successful claim for product liability in Ireland, it must be clearly proven that you received an injury through no fault of your own and due to a design, labelling or manufacturing error on a product on the Irish market. If these defects exist when a product is brought to market, its manufacturers can be held liable. If the product was damaged while in store before you purchased it you can claim for compensation provided you used it in the manner intended and followed all safety instructions.
To make a successful claim you must be able to show that your personal injury was due to the fault of the product, manufacturer or shop/person who sold you the product. The responsibility for proving the damage or defect falls to you so we advise speaking to one of the personal injury solicitors here at Ferrys Solicitors LLP’ Personal Injury Accident Solicitors.
What laws govern personal injury due to defective products in Ireland?
In Ireland, legislation on defective products mainly comes under the Liability for Defective Products Act (1991). Defective product legislation in Ireland and across the European Union is also largely governed by EU directives, including the Liability for Defective Products Act 1991 which was enacted to comply with the EC Directive on Product Liability 85/374/EEC.
What does defective product liability cover?
Defective product liability covers a range of products including poor design and marketing of products, defective manufacture, poorly labelled or defective pharmaceuticals and any other packaged or manufactured goods.
Inadequate information/marketing defects
Product manufacturers have a duty to inform consumers about known hazards or potential issues or side effects related to use of their product or pharmaceuticals. If warning labels are not correctly placed or side-effects are not clearly stated a manufacturing can be vulnerable to claims.
Manufacturing defects
A product can be defectively manufactured, for example when poor quality components, workmanship or environment are involved. This may result in a product that is not fit for purpose. Manufacturing defects often occur when a manufacturer tries to cut corners.
Design defects
Defective product liability due to design defects are usually the most difficult to prove. This involves a product design being inherently flawed or dangerous, irrelevant of manufacturing quality. This can also include where risks of the product outweigh any potential benefits. For example, the side effects of a pharmaceutical being much more severe than what they were treating.
