“Product liability,” is a very specialized area of law for personal injury lawyers in Oregon. You need an Oregon attorney who has handled cases involving dangerous and defective products. Oregon attorney Mike Arnold has retained engineers and specialists to inspect the product that injure clients to determine how it injured them and even to test similar products. These tests are to establish if the product defect is from a flaw in the manufacturing process or due to a design defect.
Mike Arnold, a Eugene products liability attorney, can handle a variety of product liability cases involving a wide range of dangerous products such as defective automobiles, drugs/medications, firearms, furnaces, ATV’s, water skis, snow skis, helmets, sporting goods, commercial equipment, household appliances, power tools, playground equipment, toys, and other consumer products.
Oregon Product Liability Law
Oregon has basically adopted §420A of the Restatement (Second) of Torts through ORS 30.900-30.920. To prevail in a strict products liability claim, a plaintiff must prove the following:
- Defendant was engaged in the business of selling the product.
- The product was in a defective condition that was unreasonably dangerous to the plaintiff when the product left the defendant’s hands; and
- The product was intended to and did reach the plaintiff without substantial change in the condition in which was sold.
By defective condition, it is meant that at the same time the product left the hands of the seller, it was in a condition that was not contemplated by the ultimate consumer and was unreasonably dangerous to the plaintiff.
To determine if the product is unreasonably dangerous, Oregon uses the consumer expectation test: “A product is unreasonably dangerous when it is dangerous to an extent beyond that which would be contemplated by the ordinary consumer who purchases the product with the ordinary knowledge common to the community as to its characteristics.” See ORS 30.920(3).
A product may be in a defective condition in the following ways:
- By design of the product itself;
- By flaw arising from the manufacturing process; or
- By the absence of adequate warnings or instructions.
Additionally, a defendant is liable for damages if the above is proven even if the defendant “exercised all possible care.” See also ORS 30.920(3); Restatement (Second) of Torts §420A comments g-h (1965).
Choosing an Oregon Product Liability Lawyer
Mike is an experienced personal injury lawyer who actually tries cases to juries. When you hire us, you hire a litigation team. We know trials, so we know how to best prepare your case for an effective settlement.
If you or someone you know in Eugene or throughout Southern Oregon needs the assistance of an experienced personal injury lawyer, call attorney Mike Arnold today at 541-797-0110.