Negligence often forms the basis on which many wrongful death lawsuits proceed. When a person fails to act in accordance with their expected standard of care and breaches their duty to their victim, their negligence may cause the victim’s death. However, in Massachusetts a wrongful death claim can also be based on a breach of warranty and this type of claim will be explored in the remainder of this post.
When the creator of a consumer good puts a product out into the stream of commerce they effectively guarantee that their product is safe for the purpose that it was intended to be used. This creates an implied warranty of fitness for a particular purpose, that purpose being the use the manufacturer intended. If a person is killed while using a product as it was intended to be used a wrongful death claim may be based on that loss of life.
Additionally, implied warranties of merchantability attach to products in the stream of commerce and those warranties guarantee that the products people buy will work and do what they are advertised to do. If a product does not perform as it should and a person is killed by it then this type of warranty may also form the basis of a wrongful death claim.
It is important that individuals who have lost loved ones in dangerous product accidents to discuss their legal rights with personal injury attorneys in their communities. Wrongful death claims are subject to statutes of limitation and victims may not wish to wait to learn more about their legal options. As always, readers are reminded that this post does not provide any legal advice.
