1. What is Product Liability?
2. What are claims of failure to warn and defective design?
3. Product Liability – What kind of claims can be brought?
4. Negligence Theory – What is it?
5. Breach of Warranty Theory – What is it?
6. Strict Liability Theory – What is it?
7. Using a product in a way other than what the manufacturer intended – Does that affect my claim?
8. In a Product Liability Case, what damages can I recover?
9. Non- economic Damages- What are they?
10. Economic Damages- What are they?
11. What are punitive damages and how can I get them?
12. What happens if I come see you for a product liability case?
13. When deciding on whether or not to take my case what will your firm consider?
14. How can I find out if you will or are doing a good job on my case?

1. What is Product Liability?

Product liability law allows compensation to consumers who were not warned by the manufacturer and/or the seller of possible product dangers and in turn sustained physical injuries and property damage resulting from the defective/ dangerous product.

2. What are claims of failure to warn and defective design?

Failure to warn is based on a seller/ manufacturer who failed to inform the consumer with directions on how to safely use a product and/or inform them of the possible dangers that could incur if the product is not used correctly.

Defective design is based on a product that is purchased by a consumer that is already in a dangerous state and unlike how the manufacturer had in mind for the product. An example of defective design would be a vehicle with airbags that do not come out when in a collision that causes injury or even death.

3. Product Liability – What kind of claims can be brought from it?

In a product liability case there are three theories of liability and they are (1) negligence, (2) breach of warranty and (3) strict liability. Sometimes it is possible to have all three theories pursued in one case depending on the facts.

4. Negligence Theory – What is it?

The negligence theory states that the manufacturer owes a breach of duty to the user, in light of the reasonable harm that arose from the reasonable foreseen uses of the product. The duty must include all the following; design, manufacture, assembling, instructing, and warning. In a negligence case, the injured is required to prove that the manufacturer violated a standard and reasonable care of the product during the manufacture or design.

5. Breach of Warranty Theory – What is it?

A breach of warranty theory states that a product did not perform as it was represented or to the level that it was expected to reach based on an implied or expressed representation of the product to the consumer.

6. Strict Liability Theory- What is it?

The strict liability theory states that a product was in a defective condition when it was purchased by the consumer. Strict liability would mean that the person or company who sold the product would be held liable for any injury or damage that was created by the defective product. The idea is not to put the manufacturer or seller in a state of negligence, but rather just to prove the product was defective when purchased.

7. Using a product in a way other than what the manufacturer intended on. – Does that affect my claim?

This all depends on whether or not the use was foreseeable. Manufacturers are to look at and think of all the other possible uses someone could possibly come up with to use a product on other than its intended purposes. If it is something that was not foreseen then you would have a stronger case.

8. In a product liability claim, what damages can I recover?

Most generally reasonable compensation is rewarded for all losses and injuries that resulted from the occurrence in question. There are two general categories in which damages are split, they are non- economic, which is the past and future, and economic, which is the past and future.

9. Non- economic Damages- What are they?

Non- economic damages are those that cannot be given a specific dollar amount such as; loss of enjoyment of life due to pain and suffering, inconvenience, mental anguish, or physical impairments.

10. Economic Damages – What are they?

Economic damages are those that can be replaced by some sort of a payment. Economic damages is a broad category and can be anything from medical care to loss of income to the cost of hiring others to perform normal household duties, and many others.

11. What are punitive damages and how can I get them?

Punitive damages have nothing to do with the injury of the plaintiff, but rather to punish the defendant and stop others from becoming involved in the same actions. The plaintiff must first prove that the defendant acted in such an intentional way such as reckless disregard to the plaintiff’s health and safety because of a known danger they failed to share. There must be convincing and clear evidence to prove that is true. These types of damages are rare but available when necessary and appropriate.

12. What happens if I come see you for a product liability case?

If wet set up a consultation with you on a product liability case, we will start by determining the facts as you know them. Based on what you know, we will make a preliminary decision about whether the case is one that falls within the scope of our expertise and is something we wish to pursue. If we do take your case for consideration, we will begin an investigation by collecting all relevant records which may include accident reports, product information, company brochures, medical records and product history. We will ask you to sign authorizations allowing us to order those types of records. We will review and analyze the records once we’ve obtained them. If we think there is a strong possibility that the product was defective, we will submit the records we’ve gathered to an appropriate expert for review and ask them to issue an opinion on the issue at hand. An expert review can be quite expensive and time consuming, costing anywhere from $2,000 on up. We make financial arrangements on a case by case basis for these types of investigations. If our experts issue an opinion indicating a defective product, and we believe we can satisfy our burden of proof we can proceed with a case. These types of cases are handled on a contingent fee basis.

13. When deciding whether or not to take my case, what will your firm consider?

We try to achieve a delicate balance between the likely result of a case, by either trial or settlement, against the cost of obtaining that result. Product liability cases are extremely time-consuming and require an enormous amount of law firm resources. We will handle your product liability case using a team approach, with multiple lawyers and staff working on your case. In addition to the law firm resources and time, we will incur high expenses for experts, depositions, travel, research, trial exhibits and many other things. In all cases, we must first determine if the case is economically sensible for us to pursue. We do not handle cases where the time, resources and expenses will outweigh any likely benefit we will be able to obtain on behalf of our clients.

14. How can I find out if you will or are doing a good job on my case?

We know that our past experience handling product liability cases is invaluable to current and future clients. We know how to obtain good results for our clients. We make a commitment to each client to get a good result in every case we decide to pursue, and our track record and credibility will back that up. However, every case has a different set of facts, and no result can ever be guaranteed. We will vigorously pursue your case. Our experienced attorneys and the support they receive from our paralegal and legal support staff allows our firm to give an unparalleled service to our clients. You will have an excellent team working on your case.