Product Liability Attorneys
What is product liability law?
Product liability is a category of personal injury law that concerns the responsibility manufacturers and distributors of products must make sure the products they produce are safe. When someone is injured because of a defect in a product, they have legal recourse under product liability law.
In general, there are three types of defects that can give rise to a product liability claim:
- Design defect: a flaw in the product’s design makes it dangerous.
- Manufacturing defect: the product is made with inferior materials or manufacturing practices that cause it to become dangerous.
- Failure to warn (marketing defect): the product is inherently dangerous, and the manufacturer failed to advise consumers of the danger.
What does a product liability attorney do?
Product liability lawyers are personal injury lawyers who focus on holding manufacturers responsible and getting compensation for people who are injured by dangerous products. For example, a product liability attorney might represent someone who was injured in a motor vehicle accident because of a design defect in the vehicle’s brakes. The manufacturer of the vehicle and/or the manufacturer of the brakes themselves could be the defendant in such a claim.
In some product liability actions, rather than a single plaintiff, there is an entire class of people (for instance, everyone who was prescribed a dangerous drug) who may have been injured by the defective product, giving rise to a class action or mass tort lawsuit.
Product liability attorneys may be involved in multi-district litigation (MDL) in which numerous attorneys and plaintiffs from multiple jurisdictions participate in a single lawsuit against a negligent manufacturer.
Product liability attorneys’ responsibilities may include investigating the cause of an injury, reviewing medical records and other documents to establish the extent of an injury and the value of a claim, participating in settlement negotiations, and filing or joining a lawsuit on their client’s behalf. An attorney may also be involved in securing services like medical treatment for their clients or negotiating with service providers.
How much does a product liability attorney cost?
Most product liability claims are handled on a contingency fee basis, which means the attorney’s fee is a percentage of the eventual recovery. There are no hourly fees or out-of-pocket costs paid by the client to the attorney. The terms of a contingency fee arrangement should be discussed between the attorney and client before the attorney is hired.
How do I choose the right product liability attorney?
Product liability claims can take a long time and a great deal of research and litigation to resolve. Pursuing such a claim requires the attorney to advance many costs with the hope of recouping them when the case is resolved, possibly years later. As such, it’s important to choose an attorney with experience, resources and a track record of results in this highly specialized area of law.
Most product liability attorneys offer a free consultation, which is an opportunity to explain what happened, ask the lawyer questions and find out if there is a potential fit. If you’ve been hurt by a dangerous product, it’s almost always a good idea to at least talk to an attorney about your legal options.
