By Derrek Cummings on January 3rd, 2018
When you buy any product with your hard-earned money, you expect it to work, and you expect it to be safe. While there are consumer advocacy groups working to keep unsafe products off shelves, there are still many products available for sale that haven’t been carefully vetted.
Can You Sue a Manufacturer?
If you’re injured by a product that had a manufacturing defect and want to know whether you have a product injury claim, you need to consider whether you meet four standards:
- You were using the product as it was intended. If you modified the product or used it in a way the manufacturer did not intend, you may not be able to file a lawsuit.
- You were directly injured by the product. Even if a product is very dangerous due to its manufacturing defect, you don’t have a claim unless you can show you suffered damages as a result of using the product. This means you suffered an injury, faced medical bills, lost wages or suffered other losses because of using that product and being injured by it.
- The product was defective. This may be obvious because of a physical defect, or an attorney may need to hire investigators and engineering professionals to determine whether a manufacturing flaw inside the product that isn’t visible to the naked eye could have caused a product to malfunction.
- Your injury was caused by a manufacturing defect. The product’s defect had to have caused your injury directly. For example, if you were using a kettle with a crack in it, the crack must be a result of a manufacturing defect, and it must have been the cause of your injury. If you burned yourself on the spout and your injury was not caused by the defect, you may not have a claim.
The standards required in defective product cases varies slightly from state to state. If you’re not sure whether you have a claim, your best solution may be to speak with a personal injury attorney.
Seeking Defective Product Settlements
Sometimes, a dangerous product sparks a personal injury class-action case. If this is the situation, you may be able to join the class-action claim. Contact a personal injury attorney to review whether this is the right choice for you.
If no recall or class-action has been filed, contact an attorney to determine how to file a claim. Your attorney can review whether you have a case and file the claim for you. They can also negotiate with the manufacturer and their insurance company or pursue your case to court if it’s best the course of action. Throughout the process, your attorney will keep you aware of what is happening.
If you’ve been injured by a defective product and aren’t sure whether to file a claim, contact Weisberg Cummings, P.C. for a consultation. Our attorneys can review your options so you can make the right choice.