April 25, 2024
Product liability lawsuits are among the most complex and confusing types of lawsuits to read about or hear about in the news.
Unluckily, suppose a defective product has injured you. In that case, an experienced product liability lawyer can help you get the compensation you deserve to recover your lost wages, medical bills, and pain and suffering.
Here’s what you need to know about product liability lawsuits.
Types of Product Liability Cases
The US Consumer Product Safety Commission receives reports of more than 30,000 injuries related to consumer products each year, and they estimate that only 1% of those result in formal lawsuits.
The most common product liability cases involve
- faulty motor vehicles,
- defective children’s toys,
- dangerous drugs,
- medical devices, and
- dangerous household products.
A poorly designed product can cause some serious injury or even death—and anyone who’s suffered damages or loss due to someone else’s negligence may be entitled to pursue compensation through a product liability lawsuit.
Who Can File a Product Liability Case?
If a defective product has injured you, you may have cause to file a product liability lawsuit.
Essentially, you can file such a lawsuit if you’ve been injured due to an unreasonably dangerous or defective product.
Your legal options depend on whether your injury was severe enough to qualify as catastrophic.
Different levels of product defects are categorized into three tiers that range from non-catastrophic (meaning your injuries aren’t too severe) to catastrophic (meaning they likely left you with permanent disabilities).
Suppose your injury falls into that third category. In that case, it will be easier for you to recover financially and win a case against anyone responsible for manufacturing or selling an unsafe item.
The Legal Process in a Nutshell
You see a hot new product at your local retailer, or maybe you’re even helping beta test it. It’s shiny and new, and it looks like everything you ever wanted.
You can’t wait to buy it—but before you do, let’s get one thing straight: Product liability lawsuits are serious business, and they can cost manufacturers millions of dollars (and sometimes even more than that).
So why are products dangerous at all?
There are several reasons:
- Defective products may not have been designed properly or made properly;
- many companies purposely release defective products on purpose because there’s money in recalls;
- some manufacturers don’t want to pay for safety features that would make their products safer; etc.
Other Considerations When Filing a Product Liability Case
While product liability cases are legal matters and require lawyers to represent you, you have an important role to play in your case.
You need to be ready, willing, and able to answer questions from your lawyer. You also should provide all of your medical records, receipts, and any other documentation that could be useful as evidence or simply help support your case.
If a defective product has harmed you, it’s also important that you file your claim as soon as possible to get on with moving forward with your life while protecting your rights if another incident occurs.
Connect with a personal injury law firm in Jacksonville immediately after being injured by a dangerous or defective product and contact our experienced product liability attorney, who can assist you in determining if it’s worth filing suit for compensation for injuries suffered.
Summing up
It’s always upsetting to buy an expensive item and then find out that it isn’t what you were expecting at all, but there’s more of an issue if that product winds up hurting you or someone else because of defects.
Product liability cases are lawsuits filed by individuals or businesses because another party’s product caused damage to the plaintiff.
To win a product liability lawsuit, it’s must prove that the product was defective somehow and that the defect was responsible for the plaintiff’s injuries.
Depending on the type of case, it may also be necessary to show that the defendant manufacturer or retailer either knew about the defect or had been given sufficient warning about it.
When this happens, the manufacturer may be liable to compensate you for the harm done, but to do so, you need to take legal action with the help of a product liability lawyer.