Can You File a Product Liability Case in a Boat Accident?

For any product liability case, you need to prove a set of elements at trial. Here they are:

• The seller sold the item in the ordinary course of business.
• The item or the item’s warnings/instructions were insufficient or defective at the time it was sold.
• The item was reasonably used in a foreseeable manner.
• The buyer was injured as a result of the item’s defective condition or insufficient warnings/instructions.

These elements would be the same if you are pursuing recovery for injuries sustained from a boating accident.

From a practical perspective, there are also some things that you need in order to be successful. Here is a brief list:

• Legal Skill: At the forefront of any case, you need competent counsel to formulate and put into action a plan of attack for your lawsuit. Product liability cases are no different. In fact, zealous advocacy is even more important because of the technical nature of many product liability cases as well as the relative strength of many product liability defendant manufacturers, distributors, sellers, etc.
• Experts: Probably the best way to illustrate that a particular product was defective or that the defect caused your injuries is through the use of expert testimony and expert evidence. Normally, defendants in product liability cases will trot out their own experts to try and show that it was fine when sold, it could not have been made any better, or that even if it was defective the defect did not cause your injuries. Therefore, you need to marshal experts of your own to rebut these charges and convince a jury that the defendant’s shoddy product damaged you.
• Investigation: A thorough investigation following your boating accident might be the best sign of success in your future product liability case. Among other things, tour counsel should record all of your injuries and medical history before and after the incident. Also, the actual product needs to be immediately secured and stored for examination and to avoid tampering. Additionally, a complete history of the product should be retrieved to note any deviations from prior versions. Finally, a tally of all damages should be calculated.
• Resources: Adequate resources are vital in a product liability case because of their complexity. Product liability lawyers should be able to provide these to you at low or no cost. Some of the resources needed include the following: legal research, copying, expert evidence/witness fees, traveling, and court costs.

Many people in Illinois and across America are injured every year because of defective boats. How do boats normally break down? There are a number of ways that faulty boats can hurt you but here are some of the most common ways:

• Leaks in the fuel systems;
• Defects in the boat’s GPS and steering systems;
• A flaw in the boat’s propeller;
• Defects in the boat’s design or manufacture; and
• Failure in the boat’s fire prevention systems.

Of course, your boat may break down and harm you in a different way. There are a million possible flaws in any boat. However, if you work with our group of skilled lawyers, we can check to see if the boat’s problems were responsible for your injuries.

Yes, if the circumstances of your boat accident allow, you may be able to pursue other claims besides product liability. For instance, if you believe that the person responsible harmed you because of his or her unreasonable conduct, then you can file a negligence claim against that person.

Additionally, if the incident actually took someone’s life, then you may be able to make a wrongful death claim. The types of claims you can argue in court depend entirely on how your incident occurred as well as what kinds of injuries resulted. To learn more about what kinds of claims besides product liability, you can pursue in court, call our offices today.