Large-scale manufacturing and selling of products lowers prices. But it also exposes consumers to the risk of injury or death due to defective products.
Standing up to powerful multinational corporations is daunting. These businesses often have large legal departments and millions of dollars set aside for litigation when products harm people. Product liability attorneys help people injured by defective products. They have the experience, knowledge, and resources to battle these companies on behalf of clients who have often suffered grievous injuries and diseases.
What a Product Liability Attorney Does
Product liability lawyers have knowledge and experience handling product liability claims. These types of cases differ from other personal injury claims for a few reasons. First, personal injury cases usually rely on negligence law to prove the liability for an injury. For example, a driver is only liable for the injuries from a car accident if they drove negligently.
However, this is only one approach used by product liability attorneys. They can also use strict liability and breach of warranty to prove a manufacturer’s liability for a consumer’s injury.
Second, courts provide different procedures for handling these cases. Since a widely distributed product could injure millions of people, forcing them to file individual lawsuits would create inefficiencies. Instead, courts allow injured users to band together in class action lawsuits. Federal courts can also consolidate individual cases into a multidistrict litigation (MDL) case. Product liability attorneys must know both these procedures.
How Product Liability Attorneys Help You
Your relationship with a lawyer usually begins with a free consultation. During this meeting, a lawyer can learn about your case and educate you about your legal options for seeking compensation. Some services you receive from an injury lawyer include:
Analyzing Your Case
Product liability cases usually depend on strict liability. To prove strict liability, your lawyer must show the product had a defect when it left the manufacturer that ultimately caused your injury. Defects fall into three categories:
- Design defect
- Manufacturing defect
- Warning defect
A product with a design defect is inherently dangerous because the defect was part of the design process. In other words, the product has no safe use because of its design. For example, an airbag's design might be fundamentally flawed, making it extremely hazardous. Improper sensor positioning could result in faulty deployment.
A manufacturing defect is introduced at the factory. These products can safely be used when they meet design specifications. However, some products left the factory in a dangerous condition because they did not meet those specs.
Manufacturers must explain how to use a product safely and warn against hazards. When they fail to do so, the product has a warning defect. The drawback to relying on warning defects is that the manufacturer can try to escape liability by blaming you for misusing the product.
Filing a Lawsuit
Unlike injury cases, product liability cases typically only settle once litigation has started. Sometimes, you can benefit from cases filed by other victims by joining an existing class action or MDL. In other situations, you might become the trailblazer for others.
Your lawyer will research your options and explain the benefits and drawbacks of each. For example, the benefit of joining a class action lawsuit is that you will rely on the class representative and the lead attorneys to carry the case to a conclusion. As a result, you will not need to do anything. However, you will also have no input in the case and may receive less than you could recover through an individual lawsuit.
Conversely, you could pursue an individual lawsuit. This option will often result in greater compensation because you can present your unique story to a jury. However, these cases can take years to litigate, even when courts use MDL procedures to maximize efficiency.
How to Find a Defective Product Lawyer
Only some personal injury attorneys handle product liability cases. These cases often require enormous resources to investigate claims, hire expert witnesses, and conduct litigation that could last for years. Many lawyers simply cannot devote the time, energy, and expense to these complex cases.
Rather than searching for “product liability attorneys near me,” you may need to look for national law firms that focus their practices on these cases. These firms are often involved in class actions or MDLs. They have staff members who can guide you through the process of submitting a claim and joining with others who have suffered similar injuries.
ConsumerShield Connects You With Product Liability Lawyers
Product liability cases are especially daunting. Large corporations have virtually unlimited resources and the time to drag out any lawsuit. ConsumerShield helps you understand your rights as well as the procedures for pursuing a personal injury claim. We can also connect you with a lawyer to handle your case. Fill out our contact form for a free case evaluation.
