Residents in Sandy Springs invest in new products all the time, but even with a high level of diligence, including product research and reading reviews before buying, sometimes the products don’t work as they should. Whether it is the latest robot vacuum or a piece of furniture, the purpose of buying a new product is to make things easier, not harder.
However, there are times when you quickly realize that there is something inherently wrong with a product you bought. If you are lucky, you will catch it before it injures you or your family.
But when it is too late, a defective product comes at a painful price and catastrophic injuries.
Buying new products should not come with the headache of fighting towards a full recovery. Hire a defective product attorney right away, and start your journey toward making things right.
When you work with the legal team of the CEO Lawyer Personal Injury Law Firm, they will help you navigate the claims process and help fight for the compensation your case is worth.
If you were hurt because of a manufacturer’s negligence, you might have a claim. Get started today when you call the CEO Lawyer Personal Injury Law Firm at (470) 323-8779 or contact us online. We are ready to help you.
How a Sandy Springs Defective Product Attorney Helps
Manufacturers are responsible for taking extra steps to ensure products are safe for the public to use. Unfortunately, this is not always the case.
Injuries from a defective product can take weeks, if not months, to recover from. Sometimes, the injuries are fatal, or the use of a product leads to a terminal disease.
During this time, victims of defective product accidents are working towards recovery, attending various appointments and surgeries, and learning new bodily limitations due to injury. These appointments will quickly fill a schedule, but many cannot afford to forgo other responsibilities without facing severe financial impacts.
While no law forces you to work with legal representation, reviewing evidence and handling claims, negotiations, and potential court cases is difficult when you already have so much more on your plate. When you elect to work with a Sandy Springs defective product lawyer, you are choosing to work with someone who knows Georgia law and can apply it to build you a successful case.
The legal team at CEO Lawyer Personal Injury Law firm understands how finite time can be. We aim to manage all parts of your case until we reach a satisfactory settlement.
Defective product attorneys work towards reviewing evidence, medical documents and bills, and insurance policies to build a solid case. During negotiations, your attorney will take the front line to serve as your representative before other parties, even in court.
Filing Your Claim
Victims of defective products can represent themselves during their personal injury claims process but will quickly find that insurance companies are not as cooperative as they anticipated. In most cases, insurance companies will try tactics to convince them to settle for less.
In addition, the responsibilities that come with handling your own legal case take time, skill, and fortitude. While you cope with injuries, doctor’s appointments, and your usual responsibilities, there is often not enough time to manage everything.
For a defective product claim to be successful, your case must prove:
- An injury occurred
- The cause of the injury was the product
- The product was unreasonably dangerous or contained a defect that was known by the manufacturer, showing negligence
- There was nothing else that caused your injury
- You were using the product as it was intended
Further, you cannot successfully file a claim or a lawsuit if you cannot prove that the defective product caused an injury. A Sandy Springs defective products attorney can help you document all of these factors and seek to prove that you deserve damages for the injuries you have suffered.
Common Causes of Injury from Defective Products
Manufacturers are responsible for ensuring that the products they are launching into the market are safe for consumers to use. However, sometimes, they are negligent in their review process and ignore vital signs of defectiveness, leading to serious accidents and even death.
Defective products happen more often than you may think. Since 2020, there has been an increase in injuries related to the use of defective products.
In fact, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) reported that between 2021 and 2022, injuries increased by a staggering 7.8%. Defective pressure cookers, car parts, electronics, medication, furniture, and more can cause faulty product-related injuries.
Although there is no universal cause for defective product injuries, the results are the same: people get seriously hurt and, in the worst cases, pass away from complications due to their injuries. Others may develop a serious medical condition as a result of exposure to hazardous substances contained in or created by the product.
The most vulnerable populations that face injuries are children and the elderly, as they are more likely to face injury with accidents involving TVs, furniture, cleaning products, and appliances.
The main contributors to product-related injuries are:
- Stairs
- Beds and bedding
- Chairs, sofas, and sofa beds
- Soaps and detergents
- Television stands
- Stoves, ovens, and similar
- ATVs
Types of Product Liability Cases
There are three types of product liability cases. Usually, when there is a case filed, they are under either:
General Negligence
In a general negligence case, the victim and their attorney must prove that carelessness occurred when a product was designed or manufactured. Legal teams will need to review product design plans, find testimony from expert witnesses, review inspection reports of machinery, product testing reports, and more.
Strict Liability
Unlike other forms of negligence, strict liability becomes a case when a company should be liable even when it did not explicitly act negligently. Instead, all that needs to be proved is that the product posed unreasonable dangers to public safety by virtue of its design or common defects.
Breach of Warranty
A breach of warranty is the same as a breach of contract. A consumer purchases a product with the intention of it working as intended.
However, when a consumer makes a purchase, there is either an explicit or implied expectation of assurance that the product works as anticipated. When the product fails to do so, the consumer can claim a breach of warranty as the manufacturer did not keep their end of the bargain.
Three Types of Defects
Product defects fall into one of these three categories:
- Manufacturing defects — Flaws introduced during product assembly
- Design defects — Failure in product design
- Failure to warn — Failure to warn the user of potential danger
Manufacturers are Responsible to Warn Users
If there is an imminent danger surrounding their product, manufacturers are legally responsible for providing a clear warning of potential injury. This is why, in products, you will see warnings to keep out of eyes, off skin, and blatant warnings of potential burns.
These warnings should be of the appropriate size and clearly visible to the consumer on the product or packaging.
Similarly, some product claims involve what is called a “marketing defect,” which refers to an implied use of the product that will be inherently unsafe. In these cases, the company failed to inform the general public that the represented use is not an actual recommended use of the product.
What Are the Common Injuries From Defective Products Accidents?
Even with precautions, users face unpredictable accidents and injuries when using defective products. Injuries sustained by defective products are brutal to recover from and include cuts, burns, and broken bones.
Even with that, it will take time to recover and adjust to its impact on your quality of life. In some cases, some injuries can be permanent, like scarring, limited mobility, and deformities.
Some of the most common injuries are:
Broken Bones
You can imagine how terrifying it is for a person, especially a child, to find themselves at the bottom of a collapsed piece of furniture. They are stuck, frightened, and in pain.
For older adults, the result of a defective product injury potentially is just as bad–if not worse. Older adults take longer to heal even if they do not have pre-existing medical conditions like osteoporosis.
Their journey toward recovery might take longer, leading to poor healing, limited mobility, and a reduction in the strength they once had.
Human bones are tolerant to stress, but bones break when the right amount of pressure is applied, especially in quick motion. Broken bones are painful and take a long time to recover from. In the worst cases, the victim may need surgery to encourage proper healing, which can involve screws, plates, rods, and more.
Burns
Appliances, electronics, and cars can have faulty wiring, which leads to burns or fires, causing serious burns that are excruciating in pain and risk infection, disfigurement, and other medical complications.
As a result, burns caused by a faulty car part, stove, or electronic often leave scars that last years, if not forever.
Head Injuries
Falling furniture, car wrecks, and slips and falls can lead to head injuries, potentially leading to serious medical complications.
The National Institute of Neurological Disorders defines a head injury as a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Victims of head injuries suffer from hematomas, contusions, skull fractures, and more.
TBIs are not immediately apparent and can appear days, if not weeks, after an accident. Victims report feeling one or a combination of physical, cognitive, and perceptive symptoms.
The only way to receive a proper diagnosis for a TBI is through a medical evaluation and diagnosis. If you believe you may have a TBI because of an accident caused by a defective product, seek medical attention immediately.
Organ Damage
Medicine is administered to make you feel better, not worse. In some cases, this happens to victims who are administered drugs that should have never entered the market or miss dangerous side effects on the label.
Although the FDA works hard to screen these medications, mishaps do happen. If a patient has taken a defective drug for a while, they may face organ damage from the medicine meant to make them feel better.
Some victims face organ damage in their:
- Kidneys
- Liver
- Brain
- Heart damage
Chronic Illness
Some products expose people to toxic substances, including carcinogens, lead, and other harmful compounds. When this exposure leads to cancer or another form of serious medical condition, those affected can seek restitution for their medical bills and other costs from the product’s manufacturer.
Work With a Proven Sandy Springs Defective Product Law Firm
Injuries from defective products happen more often than they should. Although federal agencies, companies, and consumers do what they can to prevent these things from happening, sometimes it is not enough.
Facing an injury because you used a product you trusted potentially entitles you to compensation. Reach out to our Sandy Springs office today when you call (470) 323-8779 or contact us online to schedule your initial consultation.
Our team is ready to help you get to the bottom of your case and fight on your behalf for the settlement you need.
