When a product is defective, it often requires a catastrophic injury for the issue to come to light, highlighting the danger it poses to consumers. Products designed for daily use – such as cars, tires, prescription drugs, heating systems, and appliances – carry significant risks when defects arise, as these are usually unexpected.
Even when it’s apparent that a product failure caused an injury, pinpointing the exact nature of the defect can be challenging. Victims of defective products seeking justice and compensation for their injuries need an attorney with the resources to thoroughly investigate the defect, identify the responsible party, hold them accountable, and ensure they pay their fair share.
At the CEO Lawyer Personal Injury Law Firm, our Goose Creek product liability lawyers recognize that seriously injured individuals must concentrate on their recovery. We represent clients whose lives have been impacted by injuries caused by defective products.
Our team has a lasting process for investigating and analyzing various accidents related to product defects. We leverage our vast resources to investigate products thoroughly, uncover the evidence needed to prove that defects caused our client’s injuries, and build a strong case for their compensation.
Why You Need Our Goose Creek Defective Product Attorneys
Proving injury claims can be challenging. Large manufacturers and product liability insurance companies often dispute claims, arguing that their product did not cause the injury or falsely blaming the victim.
Our lawyers will examine all aspects of the injury, reviewing evidence and medical records, deposing eyewitnesses, and consulting with expert witnesses and medical professionals.
- We will build a strong case demonstrating the manufacturer’s liability.
- Our lawyers will carefully calculate your damages to ensure you recover the maximum amount available in your claim.
- We will send the manufacturer and insurer a comprehensive demand package backed by evidence.
- Our lawyers will negotiate with the insurance adjuster assigned to your case to secure the largest possible out-of-court settlement.
- If the manufacturer does not offer an adequate settlement immediately, our lawyers will attend mediation sessions to attempt a resolution.
- If the insurance company does not offer an acceptable settlement or wrongfully denies the claim, our lawyer will file a lawsuit and represent you in court.
Over 90 percent of product liability claims settle out of court. However, if your case requires a lawsuit, your attorney from the CEO Lawyer Personal Injury Law Firm is fully prepared to assert your rights and defend your best interests in court, ensuring the lawsuit is filed within the state’s statute of limitations.
How Our Goose Creek Defective Product Law Firm Can Help with Your Product Liability Claim
Defective product claims often involve multimillion-dollar companies. These corporations prioritize profits over people and employ teams of attorneys to defend against consumer injury claims.
Why You Need Legal Representation?
Companies frequently argue that consumers misuse their products or fail to follow instructions. Without our capable legal representation, countering these claims can be very difficult.
The Complexity of Product Liability Claims
Product liability claims are complicated. They often require expert evaluation of defects and investigation into how negligence in the product’s lifecycle may have led to your injuries.
Multiple parties may also be liable in a defective product claim, including:
- The company that designed or manufactured the product
- A company that designed and manufactured a component of the product
- The company responsible for labeling and packaging the product
- The retail store or wholesaler where you bought the product
Our Expertise
The CEO Lawyer Personal Injury Law Firm has extensive experience with the complexities of defective product litigation. In cases where strict liability applies, we hire experts to examine the product that caused your injuries to determine the nature of the defect.
If your case involves questions of negligence, breach of warranty, or misrepresentation, we passionately investigate the product’s design, manufacturing, and distribution for errors or misconduct.
Our Approach
Our attorneys develop winning strategies for settlement negotiations. However, if the company doesn’t agree, we never hesitate to take claims to trial if that is the best avenue for recovery.
In both settlement talks and courtroom proceedings, the lawyers at the CEO Lawyer Personal Injury Law Firm dedicate themselves to pursuing compensation in your case.
High-Profile Cases
In addition to representing individual consumers in defective product claims, our attorneys have served as plaintiff’s counsel in high-profile class action and multidistrict litigation cases involving defective Takata airbags, General Motors ignition switches, and more.
The CEO Lawyer Personal Injury Law Firm is committed to ensuring that you receive the justice and compensation you deserve
What Is Product Liability?
Not all products sold to consumers are as safe as they should be. A product you assume to be safe—or as safe as it can be—might have flaws. If something is wrong with a product, it can increase the risk of causing harm. Using a defective product can result in injury.
Product liability refers to the legal responsibility of a manufacturer, retailer, or other party for injuries caused by defective products. Use a product, such as a vape pen or household item, as intended or in its normal manner and get hurt. You should speak with a product liability attorney to discuss your right to pursue full and fair compensation.
What Are Examples of Product Liability Cases?
Goose Creek consumers use a wide variety of products, so the types of product liability claims are virtually limitless. Examples of products that could cause injuries due to defects include:
- Cars with defective seatbelts or airbags
- Dangerous toys with choking hazards or lead paint
- Medical devices
- Industrial equipment, like machine presses
- Baby formula, such as Similac and Enfamil
- Household products, like drain cleaners
- Chemical hair straighteners
- Unsafe furniture
- Exploding products and devices
- Flammable clothing and fabric
- Tainted foods, including WanaBana Apple Cinnamon Pouches
- Hunting weapons, including crossbows
- Baby products, such as Rock ‘n Play sleepers
- Medications
- Kitchen and cleaning products, such as Oxycide and Tide Pods
- Bicycles
- Recreational items—including trampolines, tree stands, guns, pools, scooters, fireworks, ATVs, jet skis, and mopeds
For instance, improperly designed and manufactured medical implants can break off and cause internal injuries. Children’s toys or baby products containing lead paint or choking hazards are dangerous.
Cars with defective seat belts or airbags can cause injuries or fail to protect passengers during collisions. Additionally, many products lack the necessary safety devices to protect users.
Types of Product Defects
Here are some of the most common categories of product defects:
Vehicle Injuries
Defective automobiles, trucks, motorcycles, ATVs, and other vehicles can cause brain trauma, spinal cord injuries, severe burns, and other catastrophic injuries. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that auto and truck defects contribute to accidents, although they primarily track high-profile defect cases such as those involving Takata airbags.
Consumer Product Injuries
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) tracks all reported product defect complaints. These product-related injury lists include toys, appliances, electronic devices, recreational equipment, nursery furnishings, detergent packs, playground fixtures, blinds, curtains, etc.
Scaffolding Injuries
Scaffolding is a significant factor in thousands of construction fall injuries each year. Metal scaffolding units are also involved in construction and window washer electrical contact injuries.
Scaffolding incidents often result in falls from significant heights, leading to catastrophic injuries such as spinal cord trauma, traumatic brain injuries, and death. Scaffold-related electrical injuries can cause severe burns and fatalities.
Manufacturing Equipment Injuries
Despite decades of safety campaigns, annual OSHA statistics regularly document catastrophic injuries in manufacturing. Power presses, meat cutters, saws, and other machines common to manufacturing and meat processing operations can cause crushing injuries and amputations.
Drug and Medical Device Injuries
Drugs and medical devices can produce a wide variety of expected and unexpected side effects and fatalities. Liability often depends on whether patients received adequate warnings about the risks associated with these products.
What Damages Can You Recover for Your Injuries?
Defective products can injure both users and bystanders. Victims recovering from serious product-related injuries often face costly medical treatments, lengthy disabilities, and lost income.
Their families bear the burden of caring for their loved ones. Those with the most catastrophic injuries may endure a lifetime of expensive treatment regimens, surgeries, rehabilitation, permanent disabilities, and reduced earning capacities.
Damages in a product liability lawsuit can include:
Economic Damages
Economic damages cover an injured person’s out-of-pocket expenses, including:
- Lost wages
- Future lost wages
- Medical treatment
- Physical therapy
- Surgeries
- Psychological therapy
- Medication
- Orthopedic devices
- Mobility devices
- Transportation costs
- Costs to replace household services
General Damages
Though difficult to quantify, general damages are important to any damage claim. They are based on the emotional and personal impact of a person’s injuries on their life.
A general damage settlement assigns value to:
- Pain and suffering
- Disabilities
- Changes to spousal and family relationships
- Other personal impacts
Punitive Damages
In appropriate cases, judges and juries may award punitive damages to punish a product manufacturer when evidence shows their actions amounted to fraud or gross negligence.
Investigating a Product Defect Case
Product defect investigations, like all complex cases, require intense focus, diligence, and attention to detail. Outside labs, experts, and our own in-house investigators provide the support needed to uncover evidence and maintain our professional investigative standards.
Here are some key elements in a product liability case:
Product Retrieval
The defective product is important evidence in a product defect case. Our investigators excel at retrieving products for expert non-destructive testing. We store defective products in a designated evidence warehouse.
When appropriate, our facility also accommodates judges, juries, and defense counsel for demonstrations showing how defective products injured our clients.
Witness Statements
Witnesses often provide information that corroborates our clients’ accounts. They can offer details our clients missed due to their injuries. Our investigators promptly obtain statements from witnesses before they relocate or forget what they saw.
Site Investigation
Our investigator documents incident sites by taking photographs, creating diagrams, and recording details to create courtroom exhibits. They conduct site investigations at residential, commercial, and construction sites, public transportation venues, street intersections, and other locations.
Machine/Equipment Maintenance Records
When industrial machines cause employee injuries, our investigator photographs the equipment and reviews its maintenance and repair logs to identify potential defects or negligence.
Formal Reports
Our investigator secures fire reports, police accident reports, and other formal records that can pinpoint a defective product as the initiating cause of an incident.
Government Data and Reports
Government agencies such as OSHA, CDC, NHTSA, and CPSC compile injury and causation statistics. The CPSC also documents individual consumer complaints, and OSHA investigates work-related severe injuries, documenting equipment defects and workplace safety issues.
Our investigators research these government data sources for relevant information and obtain OSHA investigative reports under the Freedom of Information Act when necessary.
How to Prove Your Defective Product Case?
When pursuing a defective product case, your attorney will employ specific strategies to establish that the manufacturer or another party is liable for your injuries. Typically, your claim will hinge on one of the following four factors:
- Design Defect: This argument is based on the premise that the product was inherently unsafe due to its design, making it unreasonably dangerous.
- Manufacturing Defect: This focuses on errors during production that render the product hazardous.
- Failure to Warn: This involves cases where the manufacturer did not provide adequate warnings about the risks associated with the product, such as missing safety warnings on toys or undisclosed side effects on medication.
- Marketing Misrepresentation: This occurs when the seller fails to accurately describe how to safely use the product or omits necessary instructions or warnings.
After identifying the applicable category, your lawyers will determine the most suitable legal approach. In Goose Creek, product liability cases may be pursued under negligence, breach of warranty, tortious misrepresentation, or strict liability.
- Negligence: This theory asserts that the manufacturer was careless during the design or manufacturing of the product or failed to issue adequate warnings about its use. Proving negligence can be challenging, which is why it is less commonly the foundation of defective product lawsuits.
- Breach of Warranty: Warranties can be explicit, clearly stated, written, or implied, suggesting that the product will function as advertised. A breach occurs when the product fails to meet these standards and causes injury, making the manufacturer and other entities potentially liable.
- Tortious Misrepresentation: This basis involves the manufacturer providing false or misleading information about the product. It can range from intentional deceit to negligent or innocent misrepresentation, such as claiming a product is safe without knowing its dangers.
- Strict Liability: Often, the primary theory in defective product cases is that strict liability does not require proving that the manufacturer or seller was at fault. Instead, you must only demonstrate that the product was defective and dangerous at the time of sale, regardless of the seller’s knowledge of the product’s risks.
What Is the Statute of Limitations for Product Liability Lawsuits in Goose Creek?
Although most claims are settled out of court through direct negotiations with the insurance company, a case may go to trial if the insurer disputes the manufacturer’s liability or fails to offer an acceptable settlement. In such instances, pursuing compensation means taking the case before a jury in a lawsuit.
Like all states, Goose Creek has a statute of limitations that limits the time an injury victim has to file a personal injury lawsuit. This statute ensures that evidence remains available and eyewitness testimony stays reliable when a case comes to court.
In Goose Creek, injury victims have up to two years from the date of the injury to file a lawsuit and take the manufacturer to court. Except in limited circumstances, a court will dismiss a case if it is filed past the statute of limitations.
Evidence Needed to Prove a Defective Product Claim
Your defective product lawyer from the CEO Lawyer Personal Injury Law Firm will diligently investigate your injury and gather compelling evidence to support your claim against the manufacturer and their liability insurance company. Examples of evidence used to prove defective product injuries and their financial and physical impacts include:
- Receipts showing you purchased the product
- Product packaging
- Photos of injuries
- Medical records
- Eyewitness testimony
- Testimony from expert witnesses
- Testimony from medical experts
- Medical bills, invoices, and receipts
- Receipts for out-of-pocket expenses
- W-2 forms and employer statements proving income loss
In some cases, the investigation may uncover evidence that the manufacturer knew of the defect and failed to promptly correct or address the problem. However, because manufacturers are held to strict liability, proving negligence to recover compensation for damages is unnecessary.
Common Injuries Caused By Defective Products in Goose Creek, SC
Defective products can cause minor and serious injuries, bodily injuries to everyone involved, or even death. Some of the most common types of injuries our defective products attorneys see in their cases are:
- Back and spine injuries
- Neck injuries
- Brain injuries
- Injuries to teeth, gums, tongue, and mouth
- Sprained and bruised knees, ankles, wrists, hips, and shoulders
- Broken bones
- Fire, electrocution, and burns
- Eye injuries
- Hearing loss
- Amputations
- Drownings
- Chest and abdominal injuries
- Anxiety and psychological injuries
How Much Is Your Defective Product Claim Worth?
The compensation awarded in a defective product claim can vary significantly. Several factors influence the total compensation amount, including the severity of the injury and the recovery period, as these greatly affect the medical bills related to the claim.
Factors Influencing Compensation
- Severity of Injuries: The more severe the injury, the higher the medical costs and the greater the potential compensation.
- Recovery Time: Longer recovery periods can lead to increased medical expenses and lost wages.
- Shared Fault: If there is any shared fault for the incident, it can affect the compensation amount.
- Insurance Policy Limits: The monetary limits of the at-fault party’s insurance policy can cap the compensation amount.
- Asset Picture of the At-Fault Party: The overall assets of the at-fault party can influence the compensation amount.
Get Fair Compensation
To recover fair compensation after a defective product claim, it is important to enlist the assistance of an attorney. Our experienced lawyers will collaborate with trusted medical and financial experts to properly calculate your total losses.
The goal is to secure the compensation needed to make you “whole” so you can resume your life.
Contact Our Goose Creek Defective Product Lawyers Today!
If you or a loved one have suffered injuries or damages due to a defective product, seeking the assistance of a skilled product liability lawyer in Goose Creek is essential. Product liability lawyers specialize in handling cases where consumers have been harmed by defective products, providing expertise and legal representation.
We offer a free consultation to assess the viability of your case and provide guidance on the legal options available to you.
With extensive experience managing complex product liability laws, we will effectively advocate for your rights against manufacturers, distributors, or insurance companies. Whether the case involves a design defect in a consumer product or significant medical expenses resulting from using a faulty medical device, experienced Goose Creek product liability lawyers will work carefully to ensure you receive fair compensation for your injuries and losses.
Suppose you have suffered severe injury due to the use or exposure to a defective product. In that case, the CEO Lawyer Personal Injury Law Firm can help you make informed decisions about your legal rights.
As our client, you will be backed by a dedicated team of legal professionals and investigators committed to your cause.
Please contact us at (864) 664-3865. Alternatively, schedule a complimentary initial consultation via email to discuss your Goose Defective product accident case and learn how we can help you!
FAQs:
- What is the responsibility of product liability?
Product liability laws cover consumer and workplace goods. If someone is injured by a defective product or suffers loss or damage to private property, they can sue for damages. Producers and distributors can also face prosecution for offering unsafe products for sale.
- What is a product liability action based on negligence?
Negligence claims in product liability law include design errors, manufacturing mistakes, and failure to warn consumers of product dangers.
- Why would you need a Defective Product Injury Lawyer?
Proving injury claims can be challenging. A product injury lawyer investigates evidence, reviews medical records, consults experts, builds a strong case, calculates damages, negotiates settlements, and, if necessary, represents you in court to ensure you receive fair compensation.
