We use a wide variety of consumer products every day. Defective products, unfortunately, appear in all aspects of life – vehicles, home appliances, construction materials, children’s toys, safety equipment, and elsewhere.

If you were injured, you may have a product liability claim. Sometimes, these products injure such a large group of people that they become class action lawsuits.

Defective products cause severe injuries and death, and you deserve compensation for the harm you’ve suffered. For a complimentary consultation with the Columbia product liability lawyers at Whetstone Perkins & Fulda call today. Our experienced injury lawyers can go over your claim and determine what steps should be taken.

What are Defective Products?

A defective product is any product that has made it to market with some defect in design, manufacturing or marketing that makes it dangerous to use. This area of law is known as “product liability.” There is a vast array of defective products that have been the subject of past lawsuits, including:

Our experienced Columbia attorneys have handled many types of defective product cases, including those involving grill brushes. In those cases, people have suffered horrific internal injuries after ingesting food containing one or more metal wires from a grill brush. The bristles can come loose from the brush, and then puncture or otherwise injure the esophagus, stomach, digestive tract or other internal organs.

Types of Product Liability Claims

There are three basic ways a product may become the subject of a lawsuit:

Design Defect

These products have a defect from their inception. Even if the product is manufactured correctly, the product will be unsafe in the hands of consumers because of the defect designed into the product

Manufacturing Defect

These products were designed appropriately, but then carelessness during the manufacturing process results in a defect. Sometimes entire units or lots of a product are affected

Failure to Warn

Certain products – chainsaws, lawnmowers, scissors – are inherently less safe to use than other products, but with proper warnings and instructions the user can avoid injury. When warnings are insufficient or instructions are lacking, then a defective product lawsuit can arise because the product could not have been used safely with the information provided to the user

Where your case falls within these categories may not be immediately apparent to you. Our attorneys in Columbia will determine how to build your product liability case so that you can focus on healing. The attorneys at Whetstone Perkins & Fulda are extensively experienced with these types of cases.

Who Is At Fault in a Product Liability Claim?

There are many people and companies involved in the process of getting a product onto the market. One of the parties is responsible for the defect. Our experienced attorneys know how to investigate these cases to determine who is liable for the injuries caused by a faulty consumer good.

The most commonly at-fault parties in these cases fall somewhere along the chain of distribution, which includes design, manufacture, and marketing. Liability may lie with:

  • Creator/designer of the product
  • Manufacturer of the product
  • Manufacturer of components/parts of the product
  • Company responsible for assembling the product and its components
  • Wholesaler or distributor
  • Retailer that sells the product to the consumer

Our Columbia attorneys will work tirelessly to demonstrate that the product was defective and that the defect caused it to be unreasonably dangerous. It’s not enough for a person to have been injured while using a product. Many items, like chainsaws for instance, are inherently dangerous and may cause an injury with normal use. There must have been a flaw in these cases, and the defect must have directly caused the injury.

What To Do if You Were Injured by a Defective Product

To pursue compensation in a claim, you must be able to show that the product did in fact have a defect or insufficient warnings/instructions, and you must be able to show that your injury was a direct result of the defect. It’s not enough to have been injured while using a certain consumer product or driving a car with faulty tires; you must be able to show the connection between the defect and the accident that injured you.

Our attorneys have the experience, knowledge, and skills to demonstrate how the product caused your defective product injury. We also know how to tell the story of how your injury has impacted your life and livelihood. This is a story that arbitrators, mediators, judges, and juries need to hear. You deserve to be compensated for each and every way the injury has affected you.

Potential Compensation

Our attorneys are thorough in their investigation of the product that injured you. We want to know the ways in which you have been impacted so that we can fight competently for compensation on your behalf. In a successful product liability claim, compensation may be awarded for:

Present and Future Medical Expenses

Serious injury leaves you with hospital bills, including emergency room charges and treatment that was provided thereafter. You may need care for your injury into the future, which is a major long-term expense. Costs of physical rehabilitation would also fall into this category of damages.

Lost Wages

The injury you suffered from the defective product may have left you unable to work. If you can’t perform your job duties, how will you support yourself? How will you pay for the treatment you need? You deserve compensation for the loss of income caused by your injury.

Pain and Suffering

Your injuries will cause physical pain, as well as emotional and mental pain. While these consequences may not cost you in terms of dollars and cents, they are a heavy burden to shoulder. You should not have to live with pain and suffering without the justice you deserve.

Other Expenses, Out-of-Pocket Reimbursements, Losses, etc.

Each case is unique. There are many types of damages. Our experienced attorneys will evaluate how your injury has affected your life and fight passionately for the compensation you deserve.

Wrongful Death Compensation

If the product liability injury resulted in a loved one’s death, then you may be eligible to pursue wrongful death compensation for loss of your loved one’s financial contributions, burial/cremation expenses, medical bills related to the injury, and for other things.

This list is not exhaustive. Consult our Columbia product liability attorneys about your situation. We provide a complimentary case review at our law firm offices. Our attorneys may be able to travel to you at your home, hospital, or another location, if your injury prevents you from getting to our offices.

Talk to a Columbia Product Liability Attorney About Your Right to Compensation

If you or a loved one has been injured by a defective product and you think you may have a product liability claim, please call Whetstone Perkins & Fulda for a complimentary case review. Our Columbia product liability layers have been fighting on behalf of injured victims in South Carolina for many years. We have recovered multi-million dollar monetary awards in certain cases and we are personally driven by obtaining the best possible result for you.

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