Columbia Product Liability Lawyer
The typical American home has over 300,000 items in it, according to the LA Times. This includes everything from toasters, computers, pens, and hair clips. We come into contact with a staggering number of household items every day and virtually never get injured by the products that we use. This is why it is so shocking when we do get injured by such an item. Users sometimes do not know what to do or where to turn when they get burned by a phone battery or a self-constructed IKEA chair crumbles to the ground. In many of these cases, the manufacturer should be held liable for the victim’s damages. The Columbia product liability lawyers with The Stanley Law Group can help you recover damages related to medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and much more.
Defective By Design, Construction, or Labeling
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is tasked with recalling dangerous, defective, and misleading products that can cause injury or illness, though not all dangerous products are recalled.
Sometimes there may only be a defect with the specific item you purchased, not with the thousands of others released to consumers. There are four general types of product liability claims, described below:
- Defective Designs—The dangerous defect lies with the design of the product;
- Defective Manufacturing—The design is sound but the actual construction of the product is flawed;
- Misleading Advertising—The product was advertised or marketed to the wrong user group or for the wrong purpose;
- Improper Labeling—The product did not include adequate warning labels, a user guide, or proper instructions.
Instead of filing a claim with the manufacturer of the product, in certain cases a retailer may be held liable. For example, if the retailer knew that the product was damaged and sold it anyways, or knew that the product had been recalled by the manufacturer or the CPSC, the retailer may be found negligent.
Common Defective Products That Cause Serious Injury or Death
In 2017 alone there were over a quarter million emergency department visits due to toy-related injuries, according to the CPSC. Other dangerous or defective products, and products routinely recalled, include the following:
- Children’s Toys and Other Children and Baby Products;
- Cars and Auto Parts;
- Defective Medical Devices and Drugs;
- ATVs;
- Electronics;
- Kitchen Appliances;
- Clothing and Shoes;
- Sports and Recreational Equipment;
- Furniture; and
- Much more
Why an Attorney is Absolutely Necessary
There are almost always large insurance policies to pursue when dealing with product liability claims, but these policies are heavily guarded by insurance adjusters and lawyers working for multi-billion dollar insurance companies that will do everything in their power to blame you for the accident or reduce the value of your claim. Victims of defective products need to work with an attorney in order to be compensated fairly.
Call Our Columbia Product Liability Lawyers
If you were injured by any type of consumer product, you need to act quickly to preserve the evidence and plausibility of your case against the responsible party. While no proof of purchase is necessary to file a claim, you should not throw out the product, and should seek medical attention if needed in order to not only aid in recovery but to establish that an injury did in fact result from using the product in question. For more assistance, contact The Stanley Law Group today at 803-799-4700 to schedule a free consultation.
