Personal Injury Attorney And The Defective Product Argument

When people think of a personal injury attorney, ambulance chasers and people who sue over spilled coffee often come to mind. While there is a seedy side to the business, there are many legitimate cases that no one ever hears about because more often than not they are settled outside of court. Here is an example of a typical product defect case this type of attorney would deal with and how they would go about assisting their client to receive compensation for their troubles.

Let’s say you went out and bought a blender to make milkshakes. You read all of the instructions beforehand, plugged it in, and dropped some fruit into it, and as soon as you turn it on, the plug sparks, catches fire, and severely burns your hand. You end up in the hospital with a large bill for burn treatment, and you have to miss a few days of work. What’s worse is that the condition is very painful and several days later you must make an unexpected return visit to the doctor. In a case like this, you may be entitled to compensation for medical bills, lost wages, as well as pain and suffering.

The first thing you should do is consult with a personal injury attorney as well as to begin gathering evidence. Take photos of your physical problems, keep all of your bills and receipts, and keep the defective product. Once you’ve chosen a legal professional to work on your case, they will start researching the chain of responsibility, from the retailer or seller that you bought the blender from, all the way to the factory where it was made. Each will play a role in your case.

In the specific example of the blender, a personal injury attorney will likely make a case that the fault was due to a product defect. Something was clearly wrong with the electrical wiring, which resulted in the spark and burn. Most companies will choose to settle rather than deal with a court case, and negotiations will begin. If the company feels they are not at fault or the demands of the plaintiff are too high, they may choose to go to court. In which case the defense’s argument will be that it was the plaintiff’s home wiring that was faulty, not their product.

In other situations, a personal injury attorney may also choose to argue that the product caused harm because there were no sufficient or proper instructions on how to use it correctly. A more rare argument would be that there is a problem in the design of the product (which would mean it is not a one-off occurrence as with the faulty device claim). Regardless of the reasons, the only way to get compensation is through sufficient evidence as well as a bit of determination. It is common for some companies, especially high profile ones, to receive thousands of product complaints. Most go unheeded, except when they receive a letter from an individual’s personal injury attorney.