When
businesses put profits before the safety and well-being of people, serious injury
can occur. Faulty infant equipment and toys, poorly-engineered electric
appliances and other potentially dangerous products can cause thousands of
disabling injuries
each year.
Companies
have a legal and ethical obligation to ensure that the products they make will
not harm the people who use or purchase them. When an accident or injury
occurs due to rushing a product to market, cutting corners or ignoring safety
concerns, the company who makes, sells or offers the product has a
responsibility to provide recovery to the innocent victim or their family.
At
Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard P.C., our team of product litigation attorneys
is familiar with the physical, emotional and financial damage that a defective
product can cause. Every year, thousands of consumers sustain serious injuries
from defective products. Many of these injuries could have been avoided if the
manufacturers or distributors of these products had taken additional steps to
ensure consumer safety.
Recently,
Evenflo recalled nearly a half million infant car seats/carriers because of
faulty handles. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reported that more
than 150 infants had been hurt falling out of the seats because the handles
would release without warning. Our law firm handles product liability cases
against manufacturers in circumstances just like these. If you have a question
about this particular product recall or other similar cases please do not
hesitate to contact us.
The
main incentive to increase product safety is to avoid potential liability in
product liability lawsuits that provide compensation for the personal injuries
sustained from the use of a defective product. The damages the consumer is
entitled to receive may include compensation for medical expenses, lost wages,
loss of physical capacity, pain, suffering, and mental anguish. Punitive
damages are also available in many jurisdictions to punish defendants in those
cases involving particularly egregious conduct which demonstrates a reckless or
wanton disregard for the safety of the public.
At
Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard P.C., we frequently hear of product recalls
because of safety and design issues in car seats, ATVs, defective toys and food
contamination. The Consumer Product Safety Commission reports over 22,000 deaths
and 29 million injuries related to consumer products each year. Annually,
consumer products cause more than $500 billion in deaths, injuries and
property.
Victims
injured by faulty products have the right to seek compensation, including
economic damages (lost wages or medical expenses), non-economic damages (pain
and suffering) and punitive damages (to punish reckless behavior). In addition
to the monetary considerations of a favorable verdict, if you win your case you
may find solace in the fact that those responsible for your situation will be
brought to justice. Moreover, you will contribute to the public safety by
making manufacturers accountable for safer and more dependable products.
When
you file a product liability claim, you are suing the makers or sellers of
injurious products. Anyone in the supply chain can be held responsible for damages,
including the manufacturer, wholesaler and retailer. When their product was
brought to market, the manufacturers and distributors became legally obligated
to provide a well-designed product that is reasonably safe when used as
intended. To win a strict liability case, your attorney must demonstrate that:
The product had an
"unreasonably dangerous" defect that caused your injury, and
that the defect occurred in the product’s design, during its manufacture,
or during shipping or handling.
The defect caused your injury
even though you were using the product in the way the manufacturer said
that it was intended to be used.
The product that caused damage
had not changed “substantially” from its original sales condition.
Other
forms of product liability claims are negligence (carelessness, recklessness or
malice) or breach of warranty of fitness (damage directly resulting from
inadequate product warning). Each of these types of suits has its advantages
and disadvantages, and we will recognize and recommend the avenue that offers
the greatest chance of recompense. In some cases, we may opt to use a
combination of the three.
Should
you or a loved one need legal assistance due to injuries from a
defective product, contact us
for a free, no-obligation, and confidential consultation. We handle cases
nationally with offices located in Illinois and Wisconsin.
