What happens when a product defect causes a person’s death?

When a product defect causes a person’s death in South Carolina, it is a form of wrongful death and can result in a wrongful death lawsuit. If a lawsuit is successful, the court can award several forms of damages, including punitive damages, which are meant to punish the wrongdoer and deter similar future behavior. Wrongful death lawsuits often involve the application of products liability law. Products liability law is a type of negligence law that holds manufacturers, suppliers, and retailers legally liable for any injuries caused by their defective products. To successfully prove a wrongful death claim based on products liability law, the plaintiff must prove that the death was due to a defect in the product and that the product was not used as intended. South Carolina follows the doctrine of strict liability when it comes to products liability law. This means that, regardless of the manufacturer’s level of care, if there is a defect in the product, the manufacturer is liable for any harm or death it causes. This means that, in South Carolina, manufacturers can be held liable even if they acted with reasonable care and were unaware of the defect. In a wrongful death case due to a product defect, the surviving family members of the deceased may be entitled to several forms of damages, including medical expenses, funeral costs, loss of income, pain and suffering of the deceased, and loss of companionship with the deceased.

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What happens when a product defect causes a person’s death?

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