Practice Areas Personal Injury Product Liability Defective Furniture

Product Liability Lawyers Serving Boca Raton and Surrounding Areas

Furniture can be a costly investment, and people typically expect that the furniture that they purchase will last for several years, if not longer. Unfortunately, however, some furniture is not built to stand the test of time, and many people in South Florida suffer unexpected injuries due to defective furniture. The companies that make and sell furniture owe their customers a duty to provide a safe product, and they can be held liable for harm caused by defects in their furniture. If you sustained injuries because of defective furniture, it is prudent to speak to an attorney regarding the claims that you may be able to assert in a civil lawsuit. The Boca Raton furniture injury lawyers at The Grife Law Firm have the knowledge and experience needed to prove that companies that have produced and distributed defective furniture should be held liable. We will fight tirelessly to help you seek a strong legal outcome under the facts of your case.

Harm Commonly Caused by Defective Furniture

While there are numerous ways in which a piece of furniture may be defective, Florida residents generally suffer harm due to tip-over accidents, collapsing furniture, and furniture manufactured with unsafe components. Tip-over accidents are among the most dangerous accidents caused by defective furniture. They often occur when bookshelves or dressers are not designed in a manner that accounts for the likelihood of tipping over, or when they do not include brackets, warnings, or other safety measures to prevent the product from falling over. Accidents caused by collapsing furniture occur when chairs, stools, or beds are not made with strong materials or are improperly assembled, which causes all or part of the item of furniture to be weakened and ultimately collapse under the weight of an ordinary person. Lastly, many pieces of furniture are upholstered or finished with materials or chemicals that can cause health issues, such as cancer or respiratory distress. The furniture injury attorneys at our Boca Raton firm can assist victims in any of these situations.

Proving Liability for Furniture Defects

In Florida, there are essentially three types of defects that can form the basis of a product liability lawsuit: a defective design, a manufacturing defect, or a failure to warn. Under Florida’s strict liability rules, a manufacturer or distributor of furniture can be held liable if it made or sold the furniture in question, the furniture had a defect that rendered it unreasonably dangerous at the time when it left the manufacturer or distributor’s custody, and the unreasonably dangerous condition proximately caused a person’s harm. Furniture manufacturers and distributors may be held liable under theories of negligence and breach of warranty as well.

Time Limits for Pursuing Damages

Under Florida Statutes Section 95.11(3)(e), an action seeking damages for injuries caused by the design, manufacture, distribution, or sale of personal property, such as furniture, must be filed within four years of the date of the harm. The Florida legislature carved out an exception for cases arising out of defective products, however, which allows injured people to file lawsuits later in certain circumstances. Our Boca Raton furniture injury attorneys can help you determine whether the exception applies to your case. Specifically, Florida Statutes Section 95.031(2)(b) provides that the statute of limitations in a product liability lawsuit does not begin to run until the injured person discovers, or should discover with the exercise of due diligence, the facts that gave rise to the cause of action. For example, if a person suffers harm due to toxic fumes emitted from the material used to upholster a chair but does not discover the source of the chemicals until several years after the harm occurred, the statute of limitations may not begin to run until the source of the chemicals is uncovered. In any event, however, a claim must be filed within 12 years of when the product was purchased or obtained by the initial purchaser.