What Should You Do If You’ve Been Injured By a Defective Product?

People get injured for a wide range of reasons every single day in the United States. From car accidents to construction worksite accidents and injuries from defective products, there are many incidents that can lead to a personal injury lawsuit. As consumers, we expect the products we buy to be safe and well-made. When they malfunction in anyway, leading to injury – or worse – the responsible party should be held accountable. Every single year serious injuries and fatalities are caused by defective or improperly made products. All consumer products must be within compliance and pass safety regulations. Both manufacturers and distributors are responsible for ensuring their products are safe and well-made before hitting the shelves. Consumers rely on the assumption that a product’s manufacturer followed all proper safety measures, so when they become injured by a product, it likely comes as quite a surprise.

Product liability cases can be complicated, to say the least. For starters, there are numerous different types of product liability, including:

• Manufacturing Error – When a product is flawed because of an error made in the manufacturing process
• Design Defect – When a product is manufactured properly, but the design is flawed. This type of product liability case can be quite hard to prove, as you can imagine
• Failure to Warn – When a product has been properly manufactured or designed, but it did not carry proper warnings for any potentially dangerous qualities

In order to win a product liability case, you must be able to prove that there was carelessness on the part of the manufacturer or seller. Even though every single product marketed in the United States must go through a series of steps – from design to distribution – it is not uncommon for mistakes to occur. Unfortunately, injuries from defective products range from minor to serious, life-threatening, and even fatal.

If you have been injured by a defective product, make sure you take the following steps:

• Do research to determine if a product recall was issued. Product recalls are issued on a regular basis, often without consumer knowledge. If you have sustained an injury from a defective product, be sure and research the product on the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to see if a recall has been issued. Depending on what you find, this may determine your next step.
• Contact a product liability attorney. Because these types of cases are so complicated, it is recommended that you seek legal advice from a knowledgeable product liability attorney immediately. An attorney will be able to educate you about your options and help you decide what actions need to be taken, if any. You may able to seek compensation for your injuries, medical bills, pain and suffering, and lost wages with the assistance of a knowledgeable attorney.
• Make sure you can prove fault. As mentioned above, the only way to win a product liability case is to prove carelessness or fault on the part of the manufacturer or distributor. Work with your attorney to make sure you can prove fault and meet all of the conditions in place.

To learn more about product liability cases in Dallas, please contact Rad Law Firm today.