Do Product Liability Laws Apply If Defective Bicycle Brakes Caused An Accident?

If you have ridden a bicycle since your childhood, you most likely know how annoying it is when your brakes malfunction in the middle of a journey. Not only is it annoying, but also extremely dangerous, especially when you are riding a bike on San Diego roads alongside high-speed passenger cars and monstrous trucks.

There is a common misconception among those who have never ridden a bicycle in their life that a bicyclist is almost always the at-fault party in a motor vehicle accident.

More often than not, however, a bicyclist just cannot stop his or her bike and it is not necessarily his/her faulty. You may be surprised how common it is for bicycle brakes to malfunction or be defective.

Defective brakes in bicycle accidents

When bicycle brakes are defective or faulty, and that defect results in a bicycle accident and injuries, it makes sense to assume that product liability laws may apply. Our San Diego product liability attorney from the Simpson Law Group explains that manufacturers of bicycles and parts/components for bikes can be held liable for any damages caused by defective brakes or other faulty parts of the bike.

Unfortunately, whenever a bicycle rider gets into a bicycle accident or nearly crashes into a tree, pedestrian, other vehicles, or building because of faulty brakes, they oftentimes shift the blame onto themselves. “I must have done something wrong,” they think, when, in reality, manufacturers are the only ones responsible for defective brakes.

Suing bicycle manufacturers for accidents caused by a defect

In order to understand how to sue a bicycle manufacturer for any damages caused by faulty brakes, it is important to understand how California’s product liability laws work.

In California, you are not required to prove negligence on the part of a manufacturer in order to hold it liable under the legal theory of product liability. Therefore, if your damages or injuries were caused by a manufacturing or design defect, you will be entitled to monetary compensation.

Our experienced product liability attorney in San Diego explains that the strict liability statute exists for one reason: to prevent big-name manufacturers and retailers from throwing their vast financial and legal resources at your case to shield themselves from liability.

Manufacturing Defect

In order to proceed with your product liability claim, you will have to consult with an experienced lawyer in San Diego or elsewhere in California to determine what type of product liability case you have.

If a bicycle accident was a result of a defect that was made in the manufacturing process, and that defect existed when the product (bicycle or brakes) left the possession of the manufacturer and/or retailer, you may have a manufacturing defect claim on your hands.

Design Defect

If you, on the other hand, can prove that the faulty brakes exist in other similar products, you have a design defect claim. If a line or series of products were designed unreasonably or poorly, you may have a right to seek compensation for your damages caused by that faulty or inadequate design.

To help you establish that the faulty brakes exist in a range of products by the same manufacturer, your San Diego product liability attorney will apply both the consumer expectations test and the risk-utility test.

Failure to warn product liability

Another type of product liability claims is a failure to warn claims. It often happens that bicycle manufacturers provide inadequate or no warnings or instructions at all, which results in consumers mishandling products or not being aware of the potential risks.

Regardless of the model of your bicycle, you will most likely be up against a big-name and wealthy manufacturer that is represented by some of the best defense product liability lawyers in California. That is why it is highly recommended to lawyer up before filing a product liability claim.

Contact the Simpson Law Group to speak about your particular case. Get a free consultation by calling at 619-236-9696.