The products we buy are supposed to be designed and manufactured safely. They should never cause injuries when used correctly. For instance, toys, electronics, motor vehicles, home appliances, drugs, and medical devices are required to be safe for consumers.
However, many product defect injuries happen every day, and sometimes, they cause death. Talk to our Houston product liability lawyers at Suits & Boots Accident Injury Lawyers if a defective product injures you. The insurance company will fight your claim aggressively, and you need a highly skilled personal injury attorney to protect your rights.
Why Choose Us?
The Houston product liability lawyers at Suits & Boots Accident Injury Lawyers can help if a defective product injures you or a loved one. Our product liability attorneys possess years of experience in this field and have obtained many significant settlements and jury awards. You can always rely on our skilled personal injury attorneys for valuable legal advice and the most compensation if your case qualifies.
Our product liability attorneys are familiar with the basis of any viable product liability claim. They include:
- Design defects: A design defect is when the product’s specs don’t lead to a product with maximum safety. An example is a power tool, such as a power saw designed without sufficient guards.
- Manufacturing defects: A product may have a manufacturing defect if something goes wrong when it is made. For instance, a medical device must be sterile, but a defect in the sterilization process can cause infections.
- Warning defects: Not every product can be 100 percent safe. Many items we buy have risks. For example, improper use of weed whackers or lawnmowers can cause injuries. However, the products must have extensive warnings and instructions.
Compensation In A Product Liability Claim
You can receive compensation for medical bills, lost earnings, and more if you have a valid product liability claim. Product liability means that a manufacturer, designer, or retailer has a legal obligation for injuries caused by defective products. You should talk to our product liability attorney if you use a product as directed and suffered an injury.
They may assist with receiving compensation in a product liability claim. How much compensation you can receive depends on many factors:
- Medical expenses: A severe injury from a product defect, such as an amputation with an electric saw, will have more medical costs than minor cuts and bruises. A product defect attorney will review your medical records and bills with a doctor to understand your medical expenses.
- Lost earnings: A serious product injury, such as broken bones in a car accident caused by defective brakes, may lead to extensive lost work time. This will increase your case value. A permanent injury, such as brain damage, may result in additional compensation for lost earning capacity. Your attorney will determine if your accident should qualify for permanent disability compensation for being unable to work.
- Pain and suffering: A serious product defect injury, such as the loss of a limb, will cause extreme pain and suffering. You will have severe pain at the time of the accident, as well as potentially phantom pain for years. You should receive more money for pain and suffering than if you sprained your neck and back.
- Fatal injuries: Did you lose your loved one in a product defect accident? You can qualify for extensive damages in a wrongful death lawsuit.
- Insurance coverage: Fortunately, many product liability claims are covered by commercial insurance obtained by a company or large entity. There may be enough insurance coverage to cover your losses. But some cases may have insufficient coverage to pay for your full damages.
Where Do Product Liability Claims Happen In Houston
A product liability claim can arise with almost any defective product, such as toys, automobiles, drugs, medical devices, home furnishings, appliances, power tools, yard equipment, chemicals, fuels, etc. Many product liability claims involve motor vehicles and parts, resulting in serious and fatal auto accidents. Some of the most common accident intersections in Houston where product liability claims can be involved are:
- Bissonnet Street at Sam Houston Parkway
- Hardy Road at Sam Houston Parkway
- Sam Houston Parkway at Westheimer Road
- Main Street at South Loop
- Greens Road at I-45
- Main Street at Sam Houston Parkway
- Beechnut Street at Sam Houston Parkway
Common Types Of Houston Product Liability Claims
You can receive compensation in a product liability lawsuit in Houston if your attorney proves that a manufacturer, designer, or retailer was negligent or strictly liable for your injuries. Some of the common types of product liability cases in the Houston metro area are:
Defective Manufacturing
A defectively manufactured product is hazardous because there was a mistake when it was made. Perhaps a machine that was supposed to assemble the product wasn’t working correctly. Thus, some products that left the assembly line that week had manufacturing defects. These defective products are hazardous if a consumer uses one in an expected way.
Products made dangerous by defective manufacturing include a swing set with damaged chains, a batch of aspirin that contains impurities, or a motorcycle with defective brake pads.
A valid manufacturing defect case must have an injury caused by the manufacturing defect.
Defective Design
If a product has a defective design, the design makes the product dangerous for users, even if used correctly. A defective design product claim states that because of a flaw in the design, the whole product line is dangerous. The design issue makes the product hazardous for regular use, even if made per manufacturer specs.
Examples of defective designs on product defect cases are a car likely to flip over during a turn, sunglasses that don’t protect the eyes from UV rays, or a tea kettle that spills boiling water on the user’s hand when pouring.
Failure To Warn
State product liability statutes require that product users be warned about known dangers when the product is used as designed. There should also be detailed instructions for safe use.
A failure-to-warn claim alleges a danger wasn’t made clear to the user. Some examples of a failure-to-warn claim include a coffee maker that doesn’t warn about steam coming from a valve, a cold medicine that doesn’t warn about potential drug interactions or a cleaning product that burns the skin because of no warning labels.
Talk to our product liability lawyers in Houston today to learn if you have a claim. They will determine if your claim relates to a manufacturing defect, design defect, or failure to warn.
Requirements For A Product Liability Claim
Do you suspect a product defect caused a recent injury to you or a loved one? There are several potential bases for a product liability claim. Your attorney will review your case and tell you which legal option is preferred for your claim:
- Strict liability: The product manufacturer, retailer, or designer may be liable for your losses regardless of whether negligence or wrongdoing occurred in the case.
- Negligence: Failure by the product manufacturer, designer, or retailer to use reasonable care, which caused an injury. For instance, your attorney may prove that an auto manufacturer was negligent because a poorly designed airbag injured you when it inflated.
- Misrepresentation: The product manufacturer or seller made false statements about the product. For example, the manufacturer may claim a toy will not injure your hand when used correctly. You used it according to the instructions and suffered an amputated finger.
- Breach of warranty: The manufacturer or designer violated an express or implied warranty.
If you think you have a product liability claim, take the following actions immediately:
- Keep the defective product that injured you and give it to your Suits & Boots Accident Injury Lawyers.
- Take photos and videos of the defective product, your injuries, and where the incident occurred.
- Obtain contact details for accident eyewitnesses.
- Gather all documents related to the product, including instructions, warnings, etc.
- Speak to an experienced product liability attorney at Suits & Boots Accident Injury Lawyers.
How To Fight The Insurance Company
It would be nice to say that insurance companies in product liability claims always treat injury victims fairly. However, that would be unrealistic. Insurance companies are businesses whose goal is to protect their profits and the company that pays them.
To minimize payouts in product liability claims, insurance companies may try these tactics:
Fast Settlement Offers
A defective tool broke several fingers in your right hand. You call the manufacturer and report the injury. The next day, the insurance company offers a fast settlement to cover your medical bills. The insurer isn’t being nice and caring. It wants to persuade you to sign a low settlement offer before you call Suits & Boots to represent you.
Insurers know that most injury victims need money and don’t know their claim’s value. All early settlement offers before you hire an attorney are low and unfair to you. Reject any settlement offer and call a product injury attorney in Houston immediately.
Liability Is Disputed
The insurance company for the product designer or manufacturer may dispute their client’s liability. It can argue that another company is to blame for the injury or that you were negligent and caused the injury.
This attempt to shift blame is usually wrong, but many insurance companies will try to get you to give up on the claim. Don’t. Always call a product liability lawyer if the company’s insurer questions liability. Your attorney knows how to prove strict liability or negligence.
Downplaying Your Injuries
The insurer may downplay how severe your injury is. For example, suppose that defective brakes in your SUV contributed to a rear-end accident. You have severe back pain and whiplash. However, there are no broken bones or damaged discs. The insurance company may argue that you are exaggerating your injuries and pain.
An experienced product liability attorney won’t tolerate this tactic. They will obtain expert testimony from medical providers to prove the extent of injury and pain involved. You can reduce the chances of this problem by getting immediate medical attention after the accident. A doctor should state in your medical record what your accident-related injuries are.
Recorded Statement
The insurance company may ask for a recorded statement about your accident and injury from the defective product. This is usually early in the process before you hire an attorney. They say they want to understand your side of events. However, the goal is to collect information that they will use against you.
For instance, you might say on the phone the day after the accident that you aren’t injured. However, a week later, you discover a serious back injury related to the incident. This statement can be used to undermine your case.
Always politely refuse to give a recorded statement. Call a Suits & Boots Accident Injury Lawyer to speak on your behalf. This ensures that you don’t say or do anything damaging to your claim.
In every product liability claim, having a product liability attorney deal with the insurance company is better. Your attorney knows how to talk to insurance companies and negotiate for a fair settlement. They also understand the evidence the insurance company wants to prove liability for. Also, you should focus on recovery instead of insurance headaches. Let your attorney handle everything.
Speak To Our Houston Product Liability Lawyers Today
Being injured by a dangerous product is surprising and devastating. You can suffer life-changing injuries. You reasonably expected the product to work as designed and advertised. However, the defective product caused serious injuries to you or a loved one.
You can receive compensation in a product liability claim, but these cases are complicated. You should always rely on an experienced product liability attorney at Suits & Boots Accident Injury Lawyers for assistance. We can review your case for free now if you call us. You never pay out-of-pocket legal expenses in your case.