Women know their faces and skin can have varying reactions to different types and brands of makeup. However, getting harmed or injured by makeup products is the last thing any of them would expect to get. Makeup can have the greatest potential to harm or injure the skin.
Makeup is supposed to be regulated by the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetics Act (FD&C Act) and the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act (FPLA). Makeup falls under the category of cosmetics and includes eye shadow, eyeliner, mascara, lipstick, blush, and foundation.
However, the FDA exercises very little regulation over makeup. Under the law, the FDA doesn’t have to give premarket approval before makeup products or their ingredients are introduced to the market. This is a stark contrast to FDA’s legal authority over drugs, medical devices, and other biologics equipment. Only color additives require FDA premarket approval.
Some people don't realize that what they put on could be a dangerous combination of lead and chemicals. Most women in Florida won’t even think that their skin can react differently to different mixes and quantities of makeup ingredients. For example, if you’ve been harmed by makeup around West Palm Beach, you can ask an injury lawyer in West Palm Beach and nearby places about your options. These guys know what's the best you can do.
Here are a few things to keep in mind on how to file a claim against defective makeup products.
Document Your Evidence
Under the FD&C Act, the FDA has almost no regulatory power to make sure that the products released to the market by makeup companies are safe. The general public might not even know that the FDA doesn’t have the legal authority to compel makeup companies to submit their products for safety tests. By itself, the FDA doesn’t have the administrative power to compel corrective action or at least enforce damage control measures.
This means you can’t just write to the FDA if you’ve been harmed by makeup products and hope to get compensated. You should immediately document what happened to you after you used their makeup products. Make sure you kept the receipts as well as any boxes or bags containing their manufacturer labels and warranty. You should also take pictures of the harm or injuries you may have suffered as a result of using their makeup products. This is that point when you have to prepare yourself for a likely lawsuit.
Seek Legal Help
Once you’ve sorted and gathered your evidence, you should seek legal help. You should seek a lawyer who has handled and litigated a lot of defective products claims. Your lawyer can help you sue the company which manufactured the harmful makeup.
It doesn’t matter what harm or injuries that the defective makeup products caused you. It could be severe or even light chemical burns, allergic skin reaction, infection, a cut, or some other form of harm, as long as it’s caused by the makeup used. Your lawyer will most likely classify it into two types of claims, namely:
Product Liability Claim
Your lawyer will most likely have to bring a product liability claim if you want to sue a makeup company for any harm or injuries you suffered from using their product. But you’ll have to prove their negligence if you’re going to bring up this kind of lawsuit. To prove that they were negligent, the first requisite you have to satisfy is to establish that you bought the defective products from them; hence, the receipt.
Aside from establishing that you bought the allegedly defective products from the makeup company you’re suing, your lawyer must also prove all these requisites:
- That the manufacturer knew that there was a defect or knew that the product could cause such an effect or harm.
- That despite such knowledge, the manufacturer didn’t give any warnings to the buyer that would be enough to caution about the potential harm that the product may cause.
- That the buyer of the defective cosmetic product didn’t do anything negligent as to contribute to the causes of the harm or injuries that befell the buyer.
Breach Of Warranty Claim
A breach of warranty lawsuit is a bit more challenging and difficult to prove compared to a product liability claim. Aside from the requisites enumerated earlier, your lawyer would also have to prove that certain precise circumstances occurred which resulted in the injuries or harm done to the buyer.
The buyer who was harmed or injured by the defective makeup would also have to prove that the manufacturer gave a warranty about their products’ quality and safety. If the manufacturer didn’t provide an express warranty, the buyer should still at least be able to establish that the manufacturer gave an implied warranty. The buyer should also prove that the implied warranty was breached by the manufacturer.
Makeup and Suing
When makeup products receive consumer complaints about causing significant skin reactions or harm, the FDA can’t require the makeup company to recall such products. Most of those who have been injured by makeup have had to rely on the common law doctrine of product liability and sue the manufacturers. The buyer would have to hire a lawyer and bring either a product liability claim lawsuit or a breach of a warranty claim.
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