Product manufacturers are required by the law to follow the set standards of manufacturing any item. Electronics and building materials have global quality standards set by an engineering board to ensure the safety of users. You expect that when you purchase a TV set, it can withstand normal voltage and that it won’t blow off and cause a fire in your home. Or, you don’t expect a building tool to break down and cause you serious injuries.
Types Of Product Defect
- Design Defect. This means the design of the product was poor, making it unsafe. Design defects can’t be corrected in the manufacturing process; thus, the item has to be redesigned.
- Failure To Warn. This refers to when a manufacturer omits a warning that’s critical on how to safely use a product and the repercussions of ignoring such a warning.
- Manufacturing Defects. A product might have been designed well, but your injury occurs as a result of incorrect assembly. In most cases, it’s a failure of quality control or an error made by the manufacturer concerning the parts.
If a product poses a health risk to you, you’re allowed to take the step of seeking compensation. You can refer to the following steps in case you or your loved one is injured by a defective product:
Get Medical Treatment
Your health comes first after an accident occurs. So, when you get involved in a defective product accident, you need to present yourself or your loved one to a medical doctor for treatment without any delay. Delaying medical assistance would end up making your medical situation worse. The medical report you get from your doctor will be critical in filing a legal case in case you choose to seek compensation.
If you lack medical proof of the injury, the accused may dispute your case as lacking any connection to the defective product. Also, if you take too long before going to the hospital, the accused may argue that your delay contributed to the severity of the injury, which may weaken your case.
Get Legal Advice
Once you’ve made sure that you’re out of risk of the defective product injury, you can contact a professional personal injury lawyer, such as attorney Mark Sadaka, for legal advice. Defective product injury lawyers can represent you in cases like dangerous prescription drugs, defective medical devices, hazardous chemicals, and vaccine injuries.
From their legal expertise, they can let you know your rights, what to expect, and the right actions to take to succeed in your case. They’ll also guide you on how to collect relevant records, evidence, and supportive documents of your injury.
Gather And Preserve Evidence
Apart from the medical records from your doctor, maintain documentation of the product that caused your injury. All court cases rely on evidence, so gather as much evidence as possible. Keep the defective product as it can prove that your injury was a result of a manufacturing or design error. This can add weight to your evidence and confirm liability.
Protect the product to ensure that nothing tampers with it and jeopardizes your evidence. You can also take photos of the product and the scene of the accident. In case there were witnesses present at the time of the accident, you can note down their contacts. Precisely, put into writing what you’re doing when you suffered the injury.
Another important piece of evidence is the defective product documentation detailing its purchase, such as instruction manuals, wrapping, packaging, and purchase receipts, which can take you a long time to prove liability.
For medical device injuries, document actual prescriptions and relevant records. For all defective products, document their warranties.
Identify The Negligent Parties
To ensure that your liability case is water-tight, know every party that was involved in the distribution chain. Note down every company from the manufacturer, distributor, and wholesaler who were key players in the product’s design and sale of the defective product. Ensure that you work closely with your personal injury lawyer to identify such parties because some of them might be more liable compared to others.
Get The Value Of Damages
Having done such kinds of cases before, your personal injury lawyer can assist you in calculating the value of your damages. Once your case succeeds, you can be awarded compensation for pain and suffering, medical expenses, future medical care, and emotional and mental harm.
In severe situations where you had to stop going to work to seek medical care, or you’re no longer be able to work, you can be compensated for that.
Every step requires you to seek advice from your attorney, who can keep you informed on what to expect and the appropriate legal strategies to employ to have you receive justice for your injury.
Keep Off Social Media
Sharing about your injury on social media platforms, such as Twitter and Facebook, may initially sound all right. Getting empathy from people close to you is good, but it can be a big mistake if you publicize it.
Your accused can monitor your actions online when you file a defective product liability lawsuit. Anything that you post on social media may be used against you during the trial. Posting a photo that shows you full of health and happiness, even if it’s an old photo, can stifle your compensation claims. The opposing legal team and the insurance company can use it to prove that your injury isn’t as severe as you’re saying.
The photo’s caption can also be twisted, thereby negatively affecting your case. Even if your lawyer doesn’t tell you the impact social media can have on your case, because some of them may not be aware of it, this article is now a great source of information for you. The photos that you post from the time of filing your lawsuit are assumed to have been taken recently.
Final Thoughts
Following this step-by-step process concerning a defective product injury can help you get your compensation. However, you need to hire a personal injury attorney, and not any other kind of lawyer, as they have the right experience in personal injury cases.
