Businesses have to be extra careful about the quality of the goods they manufacture or supply to the consumers. This is because they have a duty of care and a responsibility to ensure consumer safety. If they fail on this front, the consumers can sue them for selling defective products that caused them physical harm. These defects may relate to design, manufacturing, or marketing, but one thing is clear- they can cost a lot to businesses. So it surely makes sense to protect your company against such claims. Fortunately, there are some tangible measures that you can take to protect your company in this context. Let us highlight them for you.
Ensure thorough testing
First things first, adopting continued testing as a part of your manufacture or design process can be the smartest move to prevent them from happening. Conversely, launching goods in the market without testing them can make you liable for the manufacturer’s negligence. You may even recall the faulty or dangerous products if you come to know about the defects after they have reached the consumer. With a proper testing procedure in place, it becomes evident that you have taken reasonable steps to eliminate the risk of product defects.
Review suppliers
If you are a distributor, retailer, or business that makes changes to a product before selling them to consumers, you need to review the manufacturers or suppliers you collaborate with. Essentially, you should go through the procedures and processes of the manufacturer and be comfortable with the products or components of the supplier. It is advisable to have legal contracts in place to ensure that the financial responsibility for the defects in the products prior to supply is with the manufacturer or supplier.
Provide requisite warnings on dangerous goods
For businesses dealing in dangerous goods, it is essential to provide appropriate on the labels. Absence of clear warning against such potential dangers exposes you to a product liability claim. Any customer injured while using the product can seek help from an expert personal injury attorney and get thousands or even millions of dollars in compensation, only because you failed to put up a warning text on the product packaging. Conversely, just having a line of disclosure on the packaging can protect you.
Get product liability insurance
Although businesses need not take product liability insurance mandatorily, getting coverage is a good option for any company which manufactures or distributes products. Ideally, you should buy product liability insurance as it covers the compensation that you may have to pay to any claimant who gets injured because of a defective product or design and any legal fees as well. The coverage value depends on the nature of the product and the perceived risk it entails. So you must choose the right level of coverage that has you covered in case something unfortunate happens. Product liability cases often run in millions, so it is better to be covered adequately.
Now that you know all about staying safe from product liability claims, it is time to implement these measures for your business. At the same time, an adequate insurance cover is the smartest move for cushioning your company against the financial impact of the claim.
