I was using an edger to trim my lawn and it hit a piece of glass that flew towards my son and seriously injured him. Can I sue?

Question: I bought an edger to make my lawn look even better after I cut it. After the first use, the guard on the edger cracked and fell off. Shortly after that, the edger hit a piece of glass and hurled it toward my son sitting about six feet away, seriously injuring his left eye. Is this something I can sue the manufacturer for or am I fully at fault for not having the guard fixed sooner?

Response: You have a right to sue on your son’s behalf without worrying about the specific arguments that apply to his injury. One you meet with a local attorney, you’ll learn the difference between strict liability, negligence and breach of warranty claims.

You’ll also be told that in some product liability cases, a plaintiff’s alleged negligence is irrelevant since the defendant owes a strict liability duty to all potential consumers. Manufacturing defects, product design flaws and the failure to properly warn consumers about certain product risks can also be important product liability case elements.

In the meantime, be sure to leave the edger in its current state of disrepair so that your attorney and his investigators can thoroughly examine and photograph it. You’ll also want to safely store the edger so that no one else can be harmed by it.

Answered by Elizabeth Smith

Additional Resources:

• Product Liability Issues
• Choosing a Product Liability Attorney

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