Products sold to consumers are supposed to be safe. There are many safety standards that need to be met, but often, either they are not met or the standards are not sufficient. Many defective products are recalled each year, and many others are never recalled, but still cause harm.
Some defective products can cause burn and fire hazards, such as space heaters, electric blankets, lithium batteries, vaping equipment, and sprays such as PAM.
Defective gym and sports equipment can cause serious physical injury due to the collapse or tipping of an exercise machine, failure of a pulley or weight locks, or poor safety equipment such as helmets, pads, and masks.
Defective medical devices often cause more harm than good. Spinal cord stimulators intended to reduce chronic pain can worsen and debilitate patients. Many implants become infected or come loose. Even food and drugs can be defective, recalled, and cause injury.
Automobiles and other vehicles, as well as lawnmowers, power tools, and kitchen appliances, cause countless injuries each year due to defects.
If you’ve been injured by a defective product, you need an experienced personal injury attorney on your side.
Types of defects and who is liable
There are three types of product defects: defect in design, defect in manufacturing, and failure to warn – i.e., defective marking or warning labels or warnings in instructions.
Many different parties can be held liable in a product liability lawsuit. These could include the designer, the manufacturer of parts, the manufacturer who assembled the parts, the wholesaler, or the retailer. It is possible to hold multiple parties responsible.
For instance, if the problem is in manufacturing, the designers are not at fault, unless the product was designed in such a way that manufacturing error could reasonably have been expected. Thus the designer could be held liable along with the manufacturer of the parts. If there was a separate manufacturer who assembled the parts but did not check parts for safety, that party may also be held liable.
What you should do
If you have been injured by a defective product in the state of Florida, do not delay. Reach out to me as soon as possible so we can begin researching your case and collecting important documentation: purchase and use, medical records, problems caused by the product, photographs, etc.
Because big companies have experienced lawyers who fight against product liability lawsuits on a regular basis, they usually win or manage to offer minimal settlements when consumers go up against them unprepared. That’s why it’s so important that you have an experienced product liability attorney by your side. As an experienced Florida personal injury lawyer, I have a reputation for winning substantial awards for clients, knowing and countering big company lawyers’ arguments before they even make them. I know how they think, and I am willing to take your case to court if they do not offer a reasonable compensation settlement.
The legal time frame to sue is not open-ended. The “statute of limitations” defines how long you have to begin a lawsuit after the injury occurs. Don’t be discouraged if you have passed the window, however, because there are a few exceptions. For instance, if you do not realize an injury is caused by a defective product until sometime later the statute of limitations might be affected.
Florida’s statutes of limitations are as follows:
Two-year limit: Wrongful death; some product liability; workers’ compensation; legal malpractice; medical malpractice
Three-year limit: Claims against the government, with the exception of wrongful death, which has a two-year limit
Four-year limit: Automobile accidents and other vehicle accidents; property damage; assault and battery; some product liability; personal injury
Give me a call at (954) 448-7288 for a no-cost consultation to see how I can help you. We’ll discuss your situation and begin collecting the information needed to build your case and get you the compensation you deserve.