Injury or property damage from a dangerous or defective product can warrant legal action against negligent manufacturers. Determining if your situation constitutes grounds to sue requires carefully assessing product flaws, regulatory violations, marketing materials, and the resulting harms with a Denny Terrace product liability lawyer. Contact a Denny Terrace personal injury lawyer at Shelly Leeke Law Firm to help analyze the specifics to establish liability and potentially build a compelling case on your behalf.
How to Know if You Have a Legitimate Case
Determining if you have a valid legal claim requires assessing the specific details of your situation. Key factors include whether the product had a design or manufacturing defect, failed to include adequate safety warnings, or caused harm through reasonably foreseeable use. Be sure to also document thoroughly the resulting injuries or damages.
A product liability lawyer can carefully evaluate if the product is unreasonably unsafe for consumers based on industry standards and regulations. They will research thoroughly to establish if negligence or liability applies to the manufacturer or distributor. An initial consultation can determine if moving forward with a claim is recommended for your specific situation.
If the facts show you used the product as intended yet still experienced harm, you may have a legitimate personal injury case. However, confirming you have a solid legal basis for damages involves an in-depth investigation of the product and incident. You will benefit from having an attorney on your side for this process as they know what insurance companies and the court will look for to decide which party is at fault.
Types of Claims that Fall Under Product Liability
Manufacturing defects occur when products deviate from design specifications, resulting in unreasonable risks of injury or damage. Design defects arise when the product blueprint itself poses avoidable dangers that outweigh utility. Marketing defects involve inadequate safety warnings or instructions that fail to inform users of foreseeable hazards.
Other common grounds for product liability claims are from breached warranties, both implied and express. An implied warranty holds that products should reasonably conform to standards of merchantability and fitness for their advertised purpose, and an express warranty relates to the specific claims made by manufacturers or sellers regarding a product’s safety, quality, or capabilities. When those direct promises prove deceptive or incorrect, rendering goods unsafe and causing consumer harm, the breached express warranty may constitute liability.
Another potential claim involves negligent product design or negligent failure to warn of dangers. If shortcuts are taken or known risks are not disclosed, the company may exhibit negligence that leads directly to consumer harm. Careful legal evaluation helps determine what specific claims apply.
Potential Grounds for Suing a Manufacturer
There are several legal bases on which you may build a product liability case against a manufacturer. Strict liability claims involve producing and selling defective or unreasonably unsafe products that cause harm. Negligence claims focus on the manufacturer’s failure to exercise reasonable care in designing, producing, or warning about a product.
Breach of warranty provides additional grounds, including failure to ensure products are fit for their intended purpose. Manufacturers may also make misleading statements in warranties or advertising that do not match real-world product performance, resulting in false marketing claims. Manufacturers must also comply with government and industry safety standards and protocols.
Noncompliance that results in end-user injuries or property destruction can serve as justification for legal action. Violating regulations exposes manufacturers to lawsuits even if no official recall occurs. Contact Shelly Leeke Law to begin your consultation with a product liability attorney in Denny Terrace.
Consumer Product Injury Statistics
According to the National Safety Council (NSC), consumer product injuries increased 7% for the second consecutive year, following an 18% decrease in 2020. In 2022, 12.7 million people were treated in emergency departments for injuries from consumer products, often assumed to be safe. Following record-low injury reports in 2020, consumer product-related injuries rose 6.8% in 2021 and 7.8% in 2022.
In the first 7 months of the pandemic and lockdowns, emergency department visits for these injuries fell 24%, with a 45% April decrease, according to the above source. The year 2020 saw an 18% drop in injuries versus 2019. The biggest decreases were in sports and minor sprains/strains, over 40%.
Severe injuries like amputations remained stable. Unclear if total injuries fell or just ER visits. In 2022, common hazardous product categories included TVs, household cleaners, and beds. Over the last eight years, overall consumer product injuries have remained high, requiring vigilance and consumer education on risks.
Possible Compensation for Product Injuries
Those harmed by dangerous or defective products may potentially recover compensation for both economic and non-economic damages, according to guidance from the FTC. Economic damages cover quantifiable monetary losses like medical bills, lost income from missed work, property damage, or replacement costs. Non-economic damages provide recovery for harder-to-quantify aspects such as pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment, loss of companionship, or emotional distress.
Both federal and state laws enable product liability legal action per the FTC. Possible compensation depends on specific state statutes and whether claims allege strict liability, negligence, breach of warranty, or other legal bases. An experienced product liability lawyer in Denny Terrace can advise on South Carolina laws and help demonstrate how defective products directly cause financial, physical, and emotional injury based on individual case evidence and conditions.
The FTC notes that companies responsible for putting defective products on the market should pay the costs rather than injured consumers. However, you may wait years for class action lawsuits to resolve or receive limited compensation. Having legal representation can help with legal disputes over liability for harm resulting from unsafe or misrepresented products.
Seek Compensation with a Denny Terrace Product Liability Attorney
If you suffered injuries from a dangerous consumer product, you may have grounds for financial recovery. Contact a lawyer at Shelly Leeke Law Firm as soon as possible after the incident to evaluate your legal options. We can help navigate South Carolina’s laws and use our expertise to build a strong case demonstrating liability based on the product flaws, damages, and negligent actions of manufacturers or sellers.
Do not wait to act if you have experienced harm from defective products that companies carelessly put on the market. Contact us for our free case review so we can start collecting evidence showing precisely how the product deficiencies caused your injuries. With a lawyer representing you, there may be more potential for securing fair compensation.
