Can I Sue Amazon if I was Harmed by a Defective Product?

Were you harmed by a defective product that you purchased through Amazon? If so, you might be wondering whether you have the right to pursue a product liability claim. Up until recently Amazon was only liable for the harm consumers suffered due to Amazon-brand products. However, a recent court decision has changed that.

On August 13, 2020, the California Fourth District Court of Appeals ruled in favor on an injured consumer – claiming that Amazon could be held liable for the harm caused by a defective replacement laptop battery from a third-party seller made available via Amazon. The woman allegedly suffered third-degree burns after the defective battery caught fire.

For many years, Amazon has denied product liability claims made for the harm caused by defective third-party products. The denial of liability is based on the fact that Amazon describes itself as a service provider, which simply facilitates consumer access to products. Based on California legislation, service providers cannot be held accountable for the damage caused by third-party products that they do not make or sell. Although the court ruling has resulted in a drastic change in the way that Amazon must respond to product liability claims regarding third-party products, the company claims that it will appeal the court decision.

The court decision was based on the fact that Amazon played a vital role in making the defective product available to the consumer. The court claimed that Amazon did all of the following: stored the product in its warehouse(s), received payment for the product, shipped the product, established the terms of the relationship with the third-party seller, and demanded a fee for each purchase. Because of this, the court decided that strict liability applied.

Were you or a member of your family harmed as a direct result of a defective product that was purchased through Amazon? If the defective product was purchased from a third-party seller on the Amazon marketplace, you might have grounds to pursue a claim against Amazon. Specifically, you might have grounds to pursue a product liability claim against Amazon. If you would like to learn more about your right to sue for the harm that you or a member of your family suffered due to a defective product available through the Amazon marketplace, do not hesitate to seek legal assistance with the experts at our firm immediately.

At Kenmore Law Group, our lawyers have many years of experience handling all sorts of claims; our lawyers are simply dedicated to representing the rights of our lawyers. Our product liability lawyers are ready to provide you with the guidance that you need to hold the negligent company accountable for the harm that you or a member of your family suffered due to the defective product. Are you ready to learn more about your right to sue Amazon? If so, contact the experts at our firm at your earliest convenience.

What is Product Liability?

Based on the concept of product liability, companies owe their consumers a duty of care; more specifically, companies have a duty to ensure that their products are safe for their consumers. Because of this duty of care, companies must thoroughly test and inspect their products before making them available to consumers; doing this allows companies to identify and address any hazards present in their products before any incidents occur. However, companies can fail to exercise their duty of care towards their consumers and instead breach their duty of care. This means that they are making defective products available to the public. Because of this, when a breached duty of care (which is represented by a defective product) causes an incident that leads to harm, the company that made the defective product available could be held accountable based on the concept of product liability.

What does this mean for you and your claim? Based on the concept of product liability, you might have grounds to sue. If you would like to learn more about product liability and your right to pursue a claim for the harm that you or a member of your family suffered due to a third-party seller item available on Amazon, do not hesitate to contact the experts at our firm immediately.

You Could be Eligible to Recover Compensation

Based on the details surrounding your product liability claim (and if it reaches a successful claim outcome), you could be eligible to recover compensation for the harm that you or a member of your family suffered due to the defective product. Although no amount of monetary compensation can reverse the harm caused by a defective product, the recovery of compensation can help you and your family move past such a traumatic time. What could you recover? Based on the facts of your claim, you could be awarded some of the following types of compensation:

• Medical bills
• Lost earnings
• Pain and suffering
• Property damage
• Loss of consortium
• Funeral and burial expenses
• Punitive damages
• Legal expenses

How much compensation could you be eligible to recover if your defective product claim against Amazon is successful? To ensure that you have a thorough understanding of the type and amount of compensation that you could be eligible to receive if your claim is successful, do not hesitate to seek legal assistance with the experts at our firm immediately. Our lawyers are ready to aggressively fight for your right to recover the highest amount available for your claim. If you are ready to learn more about your right to sue and recover compensation, contact our firm immediately.

What Should You Do?

If you are a consumer that was harmed by a defective third-party product sold through Amazon, there are a number of things that you should do to gather the tools necessary to pursue a claim. Affected consumers should follow the recommendations listed below:

• Take photos of all physical injuries
• Take photos of all property damage
• Take photos of the defective product
• Seek medical attention for all the harm caused by the product (seek medical care even if the injuries do not seem serious)
• Contact Amazon to report the incident suffered (keep records of all communication and, limit communications to just the facts)
  • Do not agree to return the defective product
  • Do not agree to a free replacement product
  • Do not agree to a free repair of the defective product
  • Do not agree to a refund
• Speak to any witnesses and collect their contact information for future reference
• Gather records, including medical records, lost earnings records, property damage records, and purchase records associated with the defective product
• Seek legal assistance with the experts at our firm as soon as possible

When you follow the steps listed above, you are essentially preparing to hold the negligent company accountable for the harm suffered. If you would like to learn more about exactly what you should do after being harmed by a defective product, do not hesitate to seek legal assistance with the experts at our firm immediately. Our product liability lawyers at Kenmore Law Group are ready to guide you throughout the entire legal process.

Filing Your Claim within the Statute of Limitations

Although you have the right to sue based on the concept of product liability, you run the risk of losing your right to sue if you fail to file your claim within the appropriate length of time. This is because claims are subject to a statute of limitations, or a deadline to sue. If claimants do not file their claims within the time allowed by the applicable statute of limitations, they could lose their right to sue. If you are pursuing a claim in the state of California, your product liability claim will be subject to a two-year statute of limitations, which means that you will have two years to pursue your claim. However, it is possible for exceptions to apply (based on the details surrounding your claim) that could toll the statute of limitations and ultimately extend the time available to sue. If you would like to learn more about the time that you have to pursue your product liability claim against Amazon, do not hesitate to seek legal assistance with the experts at our firm as soon as possible.

Contact Kenmore Law Group Today

Are you ready to learn more about your right to pursue a product liability claim against Amazon for the harm that you suffered associated with a defective item sold by a third-party seller? If so, do not hesitate to seek legal assistance with the experts at our firm at your earliest convenience. At Kenmore Law Group, our lawyers have many years of experience handling all sorts of claims, including product liability claims. Our defective product attorneys are ready to evaluate your claim and guide you throughout the legal process and help you reach a successful claim outcome. Would you like to discuss your product liability claims with the experts at our firm? If so, contact us today.

Our defective product experts are available to you at all times. When you contact our firm, you could benefit from our free legal services, which include free consultations and free second opinions. During our free consultations and free second opinions, our product liability lawyers will be available to answer your questions and address your concerns – ensuring that you have access to all the information that you need to pursue your claim. If you would like to benefit from our free legal services, contact the product liability lawyers at our firm today.

We offer a Zero-Fee guarantee which ensures that our clients will not have to pay upfront fees for our legal services; that is, you will not have to pay anything to speak with our experienced lawyers. Our firm is also based on contingency, meaning that our clients will not have to pay legal fees until reaching a successful claim outcome. If you do not win your claim, you will not have to pay anything.

Are you ready to learn more about your right to sue Amazon for the harm that you or a member of your family suffered associated with a defective product? If so, contact Kenmore Law Group today.

Other Pages on Our Website Related to This Topic

Amazon Workplace Injury Attorney
Defective Pedego Bike Injury Lawyer
Arctic Cat Recreational Off Highway Vehicles Recalled By Textron