Chemical burns typically result from exposure to a product. When this happens, our aim is to determine if the burn was caused by a defect in manufacturing or design of that product.
In the event that errors in manufacturing or design are to blame, it is a strict liability case, and we don’t need to prove the manufacturer was negligent in the design or manufacture of the product; we simply need to prove that the product was used in a reasonably foreseeable manner, and that it caused harm to the plaintiff.
However, I have sometimes seen chemical burns where there is nothing wrong with the manufacture or design of the product, but rather a misuse of the product by the defendant.
An unfortunate example of such a case might be a restaurant caterer using a chemical heating agent, accidentally dropping the container of that agent onto the floor, and then, that chemical splashing up onto his or her face.
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