South Carolina Product Liability Lawyer for Defective Product Injuries

Key Takeaways

If a defective or unreasonably dangerous product injured you in South Carolina, you may have a claim against a manufacturer, distributor, seller, or other responsible party for your losses. Product liability claims may be based on theories including negligence, strict liability, and breach of warranty. The applicable filing deadline depends on the claim and circumstances, although many South Carolina product liability claims are subject to a three-year limitations period. A South Carolina product liability lawyer investigates the defect, works to identify responsible parties, and pursues compensation for a client's medical bills, lost income, and other harm.

You trusted that the products in your home, your car, and your workplace were safe to use. You did not expect a hidden defect to put you in the hospital. When a product fails — a tire blows out, a medication causes unexpected harm, a tool shatters, or a child's item turns dangerous — the injuries can be severe and the bills overwhelming.

If a dangerous or defective product hurt you, a South Carolina product liability lawyer can work to hold the manufacturer, distributor, or seller accountable and pursue the cost of the injury. At Derrick Law Firm Injury Lawyers, we help injured South Carolinians and their families take on the companies that designed, built, or sold the dangerous product.

Can I Sue for an Injury Caused by a Defective Product in South Carolina?

If a defective product injured you in South Carolina, you may have a claim against one or more responsible parties for your losses. The law does not require consumers to understand the engineering behind a product, but it does require proof that the product was defective and that the defect caused the injury.

Generally, a product liability claim in South Carolina falls under one of three separate legal theories:

• Negligence — showing that a manufacturer or seller failed to use reasonable care, and that this carelessness made the product dangerous.
• Strict liability — under state law, a seller who puts a product on the market in a defective condition that is unreasonably dangerous can be held responsible even if it used every possible care.
• Breach of warranty — showing that the product failed to live up to a promise made about it, whether that promise was written, spoken, or implied by law.

Under a strict liability theory, you do not have to prove the seller was careless. The claimant must establish among other requirements, that the product was defective and unreasonably dangerous, that the defect existed when the product left the defendant's control, and that it caused your injury.

Types of Product Defects

Product liability claims usually come down to one of three kinds of defects:

Manufacturing Defects

A manufacturing defect happens when a product is designed correctly but something goes wrong in how it is built or assembled, so the item that reaches you differs from the one the company intended to sell. A single cracked weld, a contaminated batch, or a missing part can turn an ordinary product into a dangerous one.

Design Defects

A design defect may exist when a product is dangerous even though it was built exactly as intended, because the design itself is flawed. In these cases, South Carolina courts generally apply a risk-utility test, which requires an injured party to present evidence of a reasonable alternative design.

Failure to Warn

A failure-to-warn defect, sometimes called a marketing defect, may arise when a company sells a product without adequate warnings about a danger associated with the product or without adequate directions for safe use. Missing warnings on medications, chemicals, and machinery are common examples.

Common Dangerous and Defective Products

Almost any product can be defective. Types of defective and dangerous products include the following:

• Defective vehicles and auto parts, such as faulty brakes, tires, airbags, and seat belts that fail in a South Carolina car accident
• Defective equipment behind tractor-trailer truck accidents and serious motorcycle crashes
• Dangerous drugs and defective medical devices that harm the patients who relied on them
• Unsafe children's products, including toys, cribs, and car seats
• Defective tools, machinery, and industrial equipment used on the job
• Household appliances and electronics that overheat, catch fire, or cause shocks

Some defective products are subject to recalls, but a recall does not necessary determine whether a person has a viable product liability claim. 

Who Can Be Held Liable for a Defective Product?

More than one company may share responsibility for a dangerous product. Because a defect can be introduced at any point between the factory and your hands, South Carolina law may allow an injured person to pursue one or more parties in the chain of distribution.

That can include the manufacturer of the finished product, the maker of a defective component part, the wholesaler or distributor, and the retailer that sold it. Identifying potentially responsible parties can affect the sources available to satisfy a judgment or settlement. 

Defective products cause some of the most catastrophic injuries we see, from a traumatic brain injury caused by a failed helmet or airbag to spinal cord injuries from collapsing equipment. If a defect causes a person's death, the personal representative of the estate may bring a wrongful death action on behalf of eligible surviving family members.

Deadlines and Proving Your Claim

Two practical realities shape every product liability case: the clock and the evidence.

In South Carolina, many product liability claims are subject to a three-year statute of limitations, although the applicable deadline and when it begins to run depend on the particular claim and circumstances. Because harm from a drug or device can surface long after first use, and different claims carry different deadlines, it is worth confirming yours early.

South Carolina's strict liability statute for defective products may impose liability even when a seller took every precaution. However, the statute provides that recovery is barred if a user or consumer discovers the defect, is aware of the danger, and nevertheless unreasonably continues to use the product and is injured by it. 

Strong claims depend on preserving the product itself, along with receipts, packaging, and any warnings that came with it. Government agencies such as the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration maintain recall information for many products.

How Derrick Law Firm Injury Lawyers Approaches Product Liability Claims

Going up against a manufacturer and its insurers can involve complex legal and technical issues, and manufacturers and insurers may retain lawyers and experts to defend against the claim. That is why thorough preparation matters.

Attorney Dirk J. Derrick and the team at Derrick Law Firm Injury Lawyers believe that every case should be approached as if it will go to trial. In many cases, the firm uses community focus groups and data-driven case evaluation techniques to obtain feedback about how people in the community view a case. The firm then uses those findings to work toward obtaining the compensation supported by the evidence, while seeking efficient resolutions whenever appropriate. 

We serve injured people and grieving families throughout South Carolina, from the coast to the Upstate.

Talk to a South Carolina Product Liability Lawyer Today

A defective product can change your life in an instant, but you do not have to face the aftermath alone. If a dangerous product injured you or someone you love in Myrtle Beach, Charleston, Columbia, Greenville, or anywhere else in South Carolina, Derrick Law Firm Injury Lawyers is ready to review what happened and explain your options. Contact our South Carolina product liability team to request a consultation.