Product Liability

Injuries that are caused by products are called product liability cases.  There are a many ways that a dangerous or defective product can cause serious injury or death.  If you or a family member has suffered a serious bodily injury or death while that you believe may have been caused by a defective or dangerous product, it is important to obtain a legal opinion as soon as possible.  It is very important to preserve the product or the remains of the product for the evaluation.  It is also very important not to alter or change the condition of the product so that your case can be evaluated.  The manufacturer may want to secure or look at the product following the injury, but it may be in your best interest to obtain independent legal advice before you allow for an inspection of the product or surrender the product to the manufacturer.  

Product liability cases fall into different categories.  A manufacturing defect case involves a product that was not correctly assembled or manufactured.  In a manufacturing defect case, the product may have been designed and marketed safely, but was not put together in a safe fashion.  A design defect case would be a product that had an unsafe design.  With a design defect case, the product may have been assembled correctly, but the design was inherently dangerous and caused injury.  Another example of a product liability case is a marketing defect case.  In a marketing defect case, the warnings or instructions for use of the product are inadequate and don't allow the user of the product adequate information on how to safely use the product.

Some products produce a series of injuries that are similar and become the subject of a recall.  These products may be health care products, consumer products, food products, children's products and many other products.  If you have been injured by a product and you know of a recall or hear of other similar events, a legal evaluation of your injury may discover that you have a valid product liability claim.  Our office has handled multiple product liability cases where a series of similar events help establish that the product was dangerous and defective.

Product liability cases may involve many different types of products, such as motor vehicles, heavy duty equipment, machinery you might use on the job,  products you would purchase in a grocery store or tools that you might buy at a hardware store.  

There are legal deadlines that you must meet in order to bring a products liability claim.  If you fail to meet these deadlines, you claim may be barred.  Product liability defendants frequently involve responsible parties that are not readily apparent, such as retailers, manufactures, distributors and all parties in the chain of manufacture of the product.  It is important to seek legal consultation in a timely manner to protect any product liability claim.  Our office will address applicable legal deadlines that might affect your claim in our evaluation of  injury.