You expect the products that you purchase to be safe, effective, and function as advertised. When a product causes harm instead, the resulting injuries may be severe enough to warrant filing a product liability claim.
A product liability lawsuit gives consumers the opportunity to recover compensation for damages associated with a dangerous or defective product. This type of compensation can address medical bills, lost wages, property damage, and more. If you are suffering from injuries caused by defective products, contact Peterson Law Office today to speak with a Lexington product liability lawyer. Our first meeting is always free.
What Is a Product Liability Claim?
Product liability encompasses the legal responsibility of a company, manufacturer, or retailer to design, create, and sell products that are safe and free from harm. When these responsible parties fail to uphold their duty and cause harm instead, a products liability claim provides wronged parties with a legal avenue to seek compensation for serious injuries, financial losses, and more.
Most product liability claims fall into three categories:
- Defective design – A product with a design that is flawed or inherently dangerous
- Defective manufacturing – A product with a safe design that was manufactured incorrectly or with inferior components
- Failure to warn – A product that does not contain adequate warnings about its use
If you suffered harm or injuries caused by a defectively manufactured product, labeling defects, marketing defects, or other product defects, you need the backing of experienced Lexington product liability attorneys. Large businesses have their own insurers and lawyers on their side, and they will not hesitate to use every possible trick and tactic to limit their own liability while denying your right to compensation.
Peterson Law Office is a law firm conveniently located in Lexington, KY, with a focus on multiple practice areas, including products liability, medical malpractice, and more. Personal injury lawyers are standing by to meet with you for a free consultation.
Product Liability Claims We Handle
Defective product liability cases cover a wide range of products. When meeting with Lexington product liability lawyers to determine which law firm is the right fit for you, do not be afraid to ask whether a specific law office has the requisite knowledge required to handle complex claims.
The product liability lawyers of Peterson Law Office are prepared to take on a wide range of legal claims involving defective products.
Defective Auto Parts
For many people in Lexington, KY, riding or driving in a motor vehicle is part of everyday life. If one of a vehicle’s many components is damaged or made incorrectly during the manufacturing process, the resulting harm could be severe. Some of the most common defective auto parts include:
- Seat belts
- Airbags
- Steering components
- Brakes
- Tires
- Accelerators
Defective auto parts may increase the risk of an accident or increase your risk of suffering a serious injury or even death.
If you’ve been involved in a car, truck, or motorcycle accident, your attorneys will advise you of all possible liable parties. This includes the other driver as well as the product manufacturer who made or distributed the defective vehicle component.
Defective Drugs and Medical Devices
We trust that the prescription drugs and medical devices we are prescribed or advised to use are safe and effective. Unfortunately, dangerous drugs that do not perform as advertised or that actively cause harm are regularly allowed to hit the market.
Any type of defective product in the world of medical care has the potential to cause profound and lasting harm. Your legal counsel can help you determine whether your prescription medication was inherently dangerous due to its design or if manufacturing errors resulted in a hazardous design defect. This determination will be a key part of bringing legal action against the manufacturer of the dangerous product.
Defective Power Tools
Anyone who regularly works with power tools knows the importance of wearing safety gear (including goggles and gloves) and exercising caution when handling these items. Improper use of a power tool can lead to serious injury to oneself or others.
However, when a power tool causes serious harm despite safe usage, it may be the result of manufacturing errors, design defects, or a failure to provide adequate warnings.
Power tool injuries are typically severe. Deep lacerations and lost or missing digits are far from uncommon. If this type of harm caused you to suffer significant physical, financial, and emotional damages, contact our law firm today to discuss how we can help hold the product manufacturers responsible.
Defective Children’s Toys
Children rely on their parents and caretakers to provide them with safe, clean environments in which they can thrive. Parents can only meet these needs when product manufacturers uphold their legal responsibility to create products that are free from dangers.
Current federal laws strictly govern the manufacturing and labeling of products intended for use by children. For example, children’s games or toys must be clearly labeled when they contain small pieces, latex balloons, or other potentially hazardous pieces. Parents rely on the information contained within a warning label when deciding when to purchase a product or toy. If critical information is missing from this label, a caregiver may inadvertently purchase a product that has the potential to cause harm to a small child.
Your children are your top priority, and when you work with our law firm, they become our priority, too. Peterson Law Office will develop a strong attorney-client relationship with you and your family to determine how your child was harmed and what compensation they may be owed.
Defective Baby Products
Products intended for use with newborns and infants have even more stringent laws governing their design, manufacturing, and labeling requirements. While these efforts are intended to protect one of our most vulnerable populations, faulty products or baby products without proper warning labels still make it to market.
Lexington product liability lawyers should be familiar with some of the most common defective baby products:
- Formula
- Car seats
- Changing tables
- Cribs
- Mattresses
- Strollers
- Walkers
- Baby gates
- Bottles and nipples
When a child is seriously injured in infancy, the resulting harm may last a lifetime. Only work with a law firm that understands the profound and lifelong impact that product defects may have on a victim’s life. This type of damage often extends beyond lost income and may include extensive medical bills, pain and suffering, emotional trauma, and more.
Food Defects
Preparing and eating food is a necessary aspect of life. When meats, shelf-stable items, or produce products are unsafe for consumption, affected consumers may be entitled to compensation in a product liability case.
Food defects that are compensable in this type of claim can include some of the following examples:
- A product that contained nuts but did not have a warning label or have the specific nut listed in the ingredient list.
- A store that knowingly sold meat that was past its due date by relabeling or mislabeling the product.
- Produce contaminated with E.coli during the growing process.
Food products that are contaminated with bacteria like E.coli, listeria, and salmonella have the potential to cause widespread harm to consumers. It is often necessary to shut down the entire line at a processing plant to locate the source of infection and thoroughly clean and sanitize the area.
If a food manufacturer was aware of a labeling error that failed to inform customers of a possible allergen or knew that a processing line was contaminated with a dangerous bacteria, they might also be responsible for paying punitive damages in a defective product lawsuit. These types of damages are not intended to compensate victims for their losses but to punish the at-fault party and discourage them from engaging in behavior that could have a similar outcome in the future.
How Do You Know if Something Is a Defective Product?
Not every injury from using a product is the result of a defective design. But as an injured party, how are you to know whether your injuries are the result of a defective product, user error, or another cause? The most effective approach is to contact a product liability lawyer that offers a free consultation to potential clients.
A free case evaluation gives you the opportunity to discuss the details of your case with experienced attorneys. This initial meeting is also a great way to get a feel for how well you get along with a law firm’s product liability attorneys and whether you believe they might be the right fit for your case.
Does Your Case Require a Personal Injury Lawyer?
Filing a defective product claim is a complex legal process that requires the right care and expertise. Approaching this task without the guidance and backing of Lexington product liability attorneys is not advised and will likely result in you receiving far less compensation than you deserve—if you receive anything at all.
Product liability cases have a much higher chance of success when injury victims choose to work with attorneys who are prepared to advocate on their behalf throughout the entire process.
Peterson Law Office Is Here for You
Defective products should never make it to the market. Unfortunately, current federal and state regulations are not sufficient at keeping these types of products off our store shelves.
When a new client has been harmed by a flawed, dangerous, or defective product, the attorneys of Peterson Law Office are prepared to help. Our office location is conveniently located in Lexington, KY, where we meet with injury clients for free consultations.
If you’d like the opportunity to speak one-on-one with a Lexington product liability lawyer in a no-obligation setting, contact us today.
