When a product has defects, this can cause a lot of problems for the market. Buyers may end up suffering injuries that leave them with trauma. Sellers can end up losing enormous amounts of money and having to discard tons of product.
In order to help cut down on these issues, it is important to identify where product defects may occur. Identifying this can help you work toward fast detection and prevention.
Design
Cornell Law School looks at product liability. In most cases, defects in products occur in one of three categories. They happen in the design phase, the manufacturing phase or the marketing phase.
The design phase comes first. This phase contains the blueprinting, design and planning of a product. This is where the ideas of the designer come to life. A flaw in the design phase can create massive problems later down the line. After all, a design flaw means the product is inherently troubled. No matter how much caution goes into manufacturing, packaging and shipping, that inherent flaw remains.
Manufacturing
Manufacturing designs happen often, too. In this scenario, the product itself is not flawed. However, something happens during the making of the product that creates a flaw. Examples include defective airbags. Not every airbag suffers from such defects. But the defective ones can cause a lot of harm.
Marketing
Finally, marketing defects involve the packaging or selling of a product. For example, a marketing defect for cold medicine might involve incorrect dosing instructions. A marketing defect for a curling iron might involve missing information about which parts heat up so you can avoid touching them.
If you find yourself dealing with a product defect at any level, consider contacting a legal expert. They can help determine the options you may have available to you.