Orlando Product Liability Attorneys
When American consumers purchase and use a product, they do so with the belief that the product is safe and free from defects that could cause harm. The vast majority of the time, the product in question is safe and defect-free. Sometimes, however, a defective product does wind up in the hands of a consumer, and all it takes is one time for a victim to suffer serious, even fatal, injuries.
If you have been injured by a defective product, or you are a surviving family member of someone who was fatally injured by one, an experienced product liability attorney can help you navigate the legal system to ensure that you are fairly and fully compensated for your injuries. At Bailey Fisher, we have witnessed first-hand the physical, emotional, and financial devastation a defective product can cause to victims and their families and are committed to protecting your rights and to ensuring that the wrongdoer is held accountable for the victim’s injuries.
What Is a Florida Product Liability Claim?
A product liability claim occurs when a person is injured by a defective or dangerous product that managed to slip into the stream of commerce. When a product is defective and that defect causes harm, an injured victim may have the basis for a product liability or wrongful death lawsuit.
Put another way, a defective product without an injury is insufficient for a product liability claim. Likewise, an injury caused by user error or by the negligence of another consumer does not give rise to an actionable product liability lawsuit.
Ways in Which a Product Can Be Defective
The law recognizes three primary ways in which a product can be defective:
- Design defects – As the name implies, a design defect is one that is inherent in the design of the product. Surprisingly, even though huge amounts of money are spent on the development and marketing of machinery, commercial equipment and consumer products, there are often design or engineering flaws in these products that make them unreasonably dangerous when used for their intended purpose and in a reasonable manner. Unfortunately, there are many times when products are not sufficiently tested and evaluated for safety before they are released to the public or are designed in such a way as to create foreseeable hazards during normal use that are not eliminated or warned against, when safer, more reasonable designs were available. Often, design defects result from shortcuts in the engineering and development process or failure to incorporate reasonable safety features to save money.
- Manufacturing defects – Instead of being inherent in the design of a product, these defects are introduced into the product during the manufacturing phase. In other words, the product was designed safely; however, something went wrong during the manufacture of the product, turning a safe product into a defective product. Not all of these products will be defective; only those manufactured under circumstances that allowed the defect to be introduced into the product may have the defect. Examples include the use of substandard materials in the production process, failure to follow reasonable manufacturing guidelines and principals, failure of consistent manufacturing processes, and inadequate quality control.
- Failure to warn defects – There are some products that simply cannot be safe because of the nature of the product itself. For these products, such as household cleaning products, construction materials, and automobile fluids, the law imposes a duty to warn of foreseeable dangers. If an inherently dangerous product such as these is missing a warning label or the warning provided is inadequate given the nature of the product and the inherent foreseeable dangers associated with its use, the product may have a “failure to warn” defect.
Who Is Liable for a Defective Product?
One of the most complicated aspects of a product liability lawsuit is determining who is liable, or responsible, for a victim’s injuries or death. Under Florida state law, anyone in the “chain of distribution” of a defective product could potentially be held liable for injuries caused by that defect. Typically, that means any, or all, of the following prospective defendants could be held liable:
- Designer of the product
- Manufacturer of the product
- Manufacturer of component parts used in the product
- Assembler or installer
- Wholesaler
- Retailer
Compensation in a Florida Product Liability Lawsuit
Florida law allows a victim who has been injured by a defective product to pursue compensatory damages in the form of economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages are out-of-pocket expenses incurred by a victim and may include things such as lost wages and loss of future earning capacity due to disability, repairs to property, and medical bills. Non-economic damages are what most people refer to as “pain and suffering” and cover the physical injuries caused by the defective product, emotional trauma caused by the injuries and the residual disability resulting from injury.
If you are a surviving family member of someone who was fatally injured by a defective product, you may also be entitled to compensatory damages. These damages include out-of-pocket expenses incurred for medical and funeral expenses because of your family member’s injury and death, potential loss of net accumulations to the decedent’s estate and damages for the mental pain and suffering of qualifying surviving family members.
Get Help from Experienced Orlando Product Liability Attorneys
The product liability attorneys at Bailey Fisher have extensive experience in product liability and other personal injury cases and bring a strong sense of commitment to helping people who have suffered serious, often life-changing injuries due to someone else’s negligence or wrongdoing.
If you or a family member has been seriously injured, or a family member has been fatally injured, because of a defective product, we want to help you hold the responsible parties accountable for their negligence and help you obtain the compensation you deserve.
Call us at 407-628-2929 or submit our online form today. One of our experienced Orlando product liability attorneys will evaluate your case for free. For viable product liability cases, we will follow up with the necessary legal action to hold the responsible parties accountable for their negligence and recover the financial compensation you deserve for your pain, suffering, and losses.