Pittsburgh Defective Product Attorneys

Product liability claims can be based upon any of these three theories, depending upon how your injury was caused, as follows:

–Manufacturing defects. A manufacturing defect can cause harm even if a product is safely designed, because of some defect in the way the product was manufactured or put together.
–Design defects. In a design defect case, the product is put together as designed, but the product itself is unreasonably safe in the way it was designed.
–Marketing defects. Marketing defects, or failure to warn cases, mean that the product (whether or not dangerous in and of itself) did not contain proper instructions or warnings that could have prevented injuries.

In general, to recover compensation for injuries caused by a defective product, your lawyer will need to establish:

-The product was defective or was unreasonably dangerous for its intended use. This can be shown in a number of ways depending upon the circumstances, such as by showing (1) a manufacturing defect, (2) a design defect or (3) the product did not contain sufficient warnings to prevent the harm caused.
-The defect existed when the product left the control of the relevant party, such as the manufacturer.
-The defect was the actual cause of your injury or the harm suffered.

Sometimes. The manufacturer or designer’s liability depends upon a reasonableness standard. For example, if you misused the product, but that misuse should have been foreseen by the party that created the product, they might be responsible for inadequate warnings. In short, disclaimers do not always relieve negligent parties of financial responsibility for the harm caused by defective products.

In some cases, yes. If the designer should have foreseen an incorrect use of the product, they may be held responsible for failing to take steps to keep consumers safe. However, it is possible that your compensation award will be reduced based upon the way you contributed to your injury. The type and adequacy of the warnings involved (including how prominently warnings were displayed) can be particularly important in these types of cases.

Any type of product that is defective in some way might cause injury and create a valid claim for compensation based on product defects. Some common examples of defective products cases involve dangers in products such as:

-Children’s toys,
-Children’s car seats,
-Seatbelts,
-SUVs and motor vehicle components,
-Tools,
-Medical devices,
-And more.

Yes, you may still be entitled to compensation in some cases. Your right to compensation in cases involving older products will depend partially upon the reasonable useful life of the product. If it was obvious that the product was too old to continue being used safely, your right to compensation may be limited. Our lawyers can provide more detailed information in your free case evaluation.

It is very important to keep the exact product that caused you injuries. It may still be possible to recover compensation even if you threw the product away, but it may be more difficult if the product’s manufacturing process, design or warnings have been modified over time. Of course, many people throw the box, packaging and even instructions away shortly after purchase. A critical part of your claim will be locating the same product and materials. In some cases, our lawyers may be able to obtain the same product you purchased and build an argument to support your claim.

In most defective products case, the defendant will be a large corporation (or their equally large insurance company). These parties have generally poured a substantial amount of money into developing the product—and will usually spend an equally large sum trying to prove that the product was not defective. Our experienced lawyers are here to put our legal knowledge to work to level the playing field. Further, we can help you handle the complicated issues that tend to arise in this case. We thoroughly investigate every case we take on and retain experts needed to support your claim.

Defective products cases usually involve some type of technical or scientific argument or theory. Experts can provide critical testimony about why the product was unreasonably dangerous. The expert might have experience with the particular type of product involved or could testify about alternative designs that could have made the product more safe.

Our lawyers work on a contingency basis, so you don’t have to worry about paying attorneys’ fees until and unless we recover compensation for you. We also advance the expert witness’ payments and other costs associated with investigating and proving your claim—and you don’t have to pay us back until your case is resolved.