When Are Manufacturers Required To Put Warning Labels On Products?

When a dangerous product has injured a client, New Orleans personal injury attorneys usually will examine what warnings, if any, the manufacturer gave regarding the product’s use. In some cases, a product may be found to be dangerous because the manufacturer did not provide an adequate warning.

Whether a manufacturer must provide a warning depends on the nature of the product. When a manufacturer learns, or reasonably should have learned, of a dangerous characteristic, they have a duty to provide a warning of that danger to anyone who uses or handles the product. However, there are exceptions to this requirement.

No warning is necessary when the user knew or reasonably should have known of the product’s dangerous characteristic. For example, knives generally do not need warning labels because their danger should be obvious to the user.

A warning also is not necessary when the extent of the product’s danger would be obvious to ordinary, reasonable people using the product. When a product is more dangerous than it would appear to an average, ordinary person, however, the manufacturer should provide a warning.

Of course, the presence or absence of warnings may not be a factor in a personal injury case if the injured person used the product in violation of the manufacturer’s provided directions, or for a purpose outside of its intended use.

If you have suffered an injury while using a product as directed by the manufacturer, the danger of the product was not obvious, and the manufacturer failed to adequately warn you of the potential danger, you may have the right to file a product liability lawsuit against the manufacturer. In this situation, you should consult an attorney experienced in product liability law to help evaluate whether you have a claim for damages.