Chicago Product Liability Attorneys

Need an Experienced Product Liability Attorney?

Getting money to cover medical expenses isn’t always enough. You might be permanently injured, maybe you lost your job while you recovered, or the product could have damaged your property

If you take a look around your home or work, you will notice how much you depend upon products and equipment. Our kitchens are full of appliances; our garages have enough power toys to make children envious. Without thinking about it, you use thousands of products each and every day. When your equipment stops working, you might become frustrated. When your products malfunction, you could be seriously injured.

It Can Happen

• It can happen at home. Your new TV could start a fire, or your blender might not have been built with the necessary safety measures. The company might have failed to recall both of them.
•  It can happen when you drive. You depend on your car to get you around Chicago. You expect to arrive at your destinations safely. Sometimes automotive companies will fail to alert consumers of product malfunctions. Maybe those new brakes you had installed were faulty.
•  It can happen at work. Faulty equipment can cause an injury. Heavy machinery malfunctions could cause death or dismemberment.
• It could happen in your yard. From trimmers and lawnmowers to fertilizers and electric pruners, we use a lot of things to keep our yards looking nice. Perhaps that new lawnmower was built with a faulty blade prone to shattering.
• It could happen to your kids. Do you remember the lead paint problem related to children’s toys?
• It can occur at the pharmacy. Your newest prescription might not have gone through the necessary trials before marketing. Serious side effects could change your life. That’s why it’s a good idea to contact an experienced product liability attorney in Chicago to find out what your options are if you’ve been injured this way.

What To Do When a Product You Own Is Recalled

We have so many products around us in our daily lives that it is likely we will someday own a product that has been recalled. Typically, recalls are initiated due to safety concerns caused by a defective product, so it’s important to respond properly to the recall.

When you buy a product, it’s a good idea to fill out registration information supplied by the manufacturer. This ensures that you will be informed of any important recalls of the product as they occur. Without direct contact from the manufacturer about a recall, you depend on noticing bulletins posted in stores that sell the product, which is a very haphazard system.

When you receive notification of a safety defect and product recall, you should read it carefully. It will instruct you about how to respond to the recall. Usually, you will be asked to stop using the product or arrange for a remedy. In general, manufacturers have the option to repair the defect, replace the product, or refund your money.

• Consumer and baby products: Are more often replaced than repaired or refunded
• Defective automobiles: Are more often repaired than replaced or refunded.
• Dangerous drugs: Are more often refunded than replaced.

Chicago Product Defect Attorneys

As a consumer, you have the right to expect that the products you buy should be reasonably safe when used in a manner consistent with their intended use.

Unfortunately, products are not always safe and can result in injuries that range from poisoning and choking of children to serious cuts or puncture wounds to house fires. When this occurs, you and your family should not have to bear that cost alone. The company that sold the defective product should take responsibility for the defect that hurt you or your loved one.

This page can help you understand the source and types of product defects that can result in injury, but the best way to learn about your legal rights and options after a defective product injury, you need to talk to a product liability lawyer in Chicago in person. Please call (312) 957-4166 today for a free initial consultation at either of our convenient locations.

Design Defects

Many defective products are defective by design. Design defects occur when the product engineers at a company do not properly account for all the normal situations in which a product might reasonably be used. They may decide to use inappropriate materials, fail to put in appropriate safeguards, or not account for possible dangers to people outside the normal range of height, weight, or limb length. They may design products that present unreasonable hazards for children.

Often these design defects are not accidental, they are deliberate decisions to make a product more cost-effective so they can increase profits. Safety equipment is left off, cheaper materials are inserted, and concerns of engineers are put aside because the potential for increased profit is substantial.

Manufacturing Defects

Manufacturing defects occur when a product as it comes off the assembly line does not fulfill the engineered design. This may be the result of many different situations, such as poor quality control, subcontracting our manufacturing, hiring unskilled labor, or using old manufacturing practices.

Manufacturing defects also often result from cost decisions. Quality control can be expensive, as can updating machinery and practices. Outsourcing manufacturing can reduce costs, but subcontractors do not always live up to the original specifications, and may even substitute toxic ingredients for safe ones specified.

Instruction Defects

Unclear instructions can seem hilarious when reading them, but sometimes they result in deadly dangers. Assembly instructions and use instructions that are unclear can make products unsafe to use by most consumers. It is a manufacturer’s job to make sure you understand how to safely and properly use a product.

Instruction defects can occur when a company does not employ qualified dedicated staff to write instructions, adding the job to that of engineers or office staff.

What Compensation Can I Receive in a Defective Product Case?

Typical economic damages can include:

• Medical bills already due
• Expected medical bills, an experienced attorney can make a good estimate of the lifetime cost for many injuries
• Rehabilitation and physical therapy may include modifications to home and car to accommodate a disability
• Lost wages
• Diminished future earning ability if you are not now able to work in the same job

Typical noneconomic damages can include:

• Pain and suffering, including ongoing pain
• Diminished quality of life due to activities you can no longer enjoy because of injury
• Trauma
• Disfigurement

If you lost a loved one due to a defective product, a wrongful death lawsuit can be filed that can seek compensation that includes:

• Loved one’s expected lifetime earnings
• Funeral expenses
• Loss of companionship
• Grief

The amount of compensation for your case depends on the specific circumstances of the accident, and the type of injury. Brain injury can be hard to document and argue successfully, but it can be done. If your case takes a long time to settle, you may also be given the interest in the compensation.

In some cases, compensation may be diminished by payments you have already received. If, for example, you were injured by a defective product at work, and received workers’ compensation for your injuries, the workers’ compensation insurer may seek to be repaid. The same is true if you received Medicaid benefits for medical expenses.