Accidents often happen because the equipment or product being used is defective.

Where such an accident occurs at work a claim will normally be brought against the employer who provided the equipment in the first place.

On many other occasions however accidents occur as a result of defective products which are not being used in a work environment. In such circumstances it may not be entirely clear which party is responsible for meeting any claim for personal injury compensation.

Under the Consumer Protection Act (CPA), it is possible to pursue a claim for personal injury compensation against the ‘producer’ of the defective product. A claim can be brought under the CPA by any person injured by the defective product regardless of whether they owned or purchased the product in the first place. The Act imposes strict liability on ‘producers’ of defective products which allows any person injured as a result of the defect to seek compensation. To do it is necessary to establish that the product was defective and that the injury was sustained as a result of that defect.

This may not be as easy as it sounds. On many occasions it will be argued by the other party that the product had already been damaged before the accident occurred or that the accident was caused by user error which in turn damaged product. Accordingly expert evidence may be required on many occasions to establish the exact cause of the accident and in particular that the product was defective as alleged.

Any claim under the CPA should be brought against the ‘producer’ of the product. The definition of ‘producer’ includes the manufacturer and any party which holds itself out to be the producer through the use of a name or trade mark. In addition any person who imported it into the European Community would be regarded as a producer for the purposes of pursuing a compensation claim. Accordingly there may be more than one potential party against whom the claim for personal injury compensation can be made.

As with all claims for personal injury compensation there are time limits within which a claim must be submitted. In general Court proceedings must be issued within 3 years from the date of the injury. Having said this, It will not be possible to pursue a claim if the accident occurs once the product has been in circulation or use for more than 10 years.

At Sintons our specialist personal injury lawyers have a wealth of experience in pursuing defective product compensation claims.

All personal injury claims are pursued on a No Win No Fee basis so you can rest assured that there is no financial risk.

To begin a personal injury compensation claim or obtain further advice with no obligation contact Sintons 24/7.