Philadelphia Product Liability Lawyer
If you stop and think about your daily routine, you likely come into contact with hundreds of products each day, whether it’s a shower head, a toothbrush, makeup or aftershave, your vehicle, home decor, a television, fitness equipment, or something else. Manufacturers in the United States have the legal and moral responsibility to ensure all products that they bring to market are safe for public use or consumption. Even when companies go through rigorous quality control and testing, they still might introduce a dangerous product to the public, which can cause property damage, physical harm, and can sometimes be fatal. Read on to learn more about what our experienced Philadelphia product liability attorney can do for you.
If you, your child, or another loved one has suffered harm because of a defective product, Pennsylvania law entitles you to seek compensation for damages in civil court. Product liability lawsuits often involve the manufacturer and at least one or two other parties, making them highly complex and requiring the representation of a qualified attorney who really understands product liability law. The experienced Philadelphia personal injury lawyers at the Levin Firm is here to help you with your product liability claim. If you live in the Greater Philadelphia area, contact us at (215) 825-5183 for a free consultation, to discuss the details of your injury, and to determine the best course of action for your case.
The Levin Firm’s Commitment To Individuals Injured By Defective Products
The qualified personal injury attorneys at the Levin Firm have extensive experience advocating for clients who have suffered injury as a result of another party’s intentional harm or negligence, including those who have been injured by a defective product. Their continued commitment to professional excellence and client service has resulted in the recovery of millions of dollars in damages for their clients. Each injury and situation has characteristics that can detract from or add to the value of a claim, so it’s impossible to guarantee an outcome for any one case. You can, however, rest easily knowing that the legal team at the Levin Firm is on your side and will aggressively pursue the best outcome given your specific circumstances.
What is a Defective Product?
You probably realize that a defective product is a product that doesn’t work, but from a legal standpoint, a consumer product can have three types of defects: design defects, manufacturing defects, and marketing/information defects. Below we explain each in-depth:
Design Defects
A design defect occurs during the conceptual and design stage of a new product. From a legal standpoint, products with defective designs are unreasonably dangerous to consumers. Pennsylvania courts use two different standards to asses whether a product has a defective design.
- Consumer-expectation test. This test assesses the extent to which a product performs as safely as an ordinary consumer would expect, assuming the consumer is using the product as intended by the manufacturer.
- Risk-utility test. This text determines whether a product has a design defect by assessing whether the product’s utility outweighs its risk of injury. The risk-utility test usually carries less weight, but it is an extra tool for your attorney to use to support your case.
Manufacturing Defects
A manufacturing defect occurs when a new product is built or assembled. Generally, the design of the product was safe, but the execution of the design created a defect. This means the product is dangerous because its actual performance is less safe than intended. Manufacturing defects can occur because of poor materials or parts, errors in construction, assembly, or shipping, malfunctioning machinery, and many other types of errors that occur before the product is distributed or sold.
Marketing/Information Defects
Product manufacturers are required to provide instructions to consumers for all products and warn consumers of any hazardous features. Depending on the specific consumer product, failure to include instructions, improper labeling, or inadequate warnings might be considered a marketing or information defect.
Defective Product Injuries
The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) collects, records, and maintains data about defective products and related injuries. With millions of products available for purchase, the CPSC stays busy. Examples of the types of products the CPSC gathers data on include toxic chemicals, lighters, furniture, appliances, electronics, construction tools, kitchen items, sports and recreation products, children’s products, and toys. Depending on the exact product and circumstances, those who have been harmed might suffer a wide array of injuries from a defective product. According to the CPSC, defective products can lead to the following injuries:
- Amputations
- Drowning
- Electrocution
- Deep cuts and lacerations
- Burns and explosions from heat and chemicals
- Carbon monoxide poisoning
- Brain injuries
- Back and neck injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Terminal illness or disease from exposure to hazardous chemicals
Seeking Compensation for Defective Product Injuries
Pennsylvania law permits you to sue liable parties for damages related to your injuries when a defective product causes you harm.
Pennsylvania courts award compensatory and punitive damages when they rule in favor of a plaintiff in a product liability lawsuit. Courts reserve punitive damages for rare and extreme cases of gross negligence or fraud to conceal a defect. Compensatory damages intend to help ease the financial burden that injured individuals face in the wake of a defective product injury. Damages you may receive if the court rules in your favor or you reach a reasonable settlement include:
- Medical expenses, including ambulance and emergency services, emergency room treatment, hospitalization, surgery, diagnostic imaging, follow-up care, and prescriptions
- Future medical expenses when a defective product-related injury causes a permanent disability requiring lifelong care or a severe injury requiring extensive recovery
- Rehabilitation expenses for specialists who help the injured individual recover lost function and assistive devices, like crutches, canes, walkers, and wheelchairs
- Lost wages for missing work as a result of injury, treatment, and recovery
- Lost earning capacity when a victim suffers a catastrophic injury that prevents him or her from returning to any kind of gainful, full-time employment
- Home modification expenses to make an injured person’s house more accessible, such as the addition of handrails or a wheelchair ramp
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional pain and suffering
- Loss in quality of life
- Loss of consortium with a spouse
- Scarring and disfigurement
- Other non-economic damages that might apply to a specific case
Determining Liable Parties in Defective Product Lawsuits
In most product liability cases, the plaintiff will name the manufacturer of the defective product as the defendant in a product liability lawsuit. Yet, other parties might also be wholly liable or share liability.
Parties you might consider listing in your claim include:
- The product manufacturer. Any business entity that designs and markets consumer products, from multinational corporations to John Doe building items in his garage, can be liable in a product liability suit. A parts manufacturer might also face liability when a defective part on a motor vehicle, boat, tractor, or another piece of machinery causes harm.
- The product wholesaler/distributor. If a distributor knows a product is defective and still distributes the product, a Pennsylvania court might find them liable for damages related to an injury.
- A product retailer. Consumers expect that the products they purchase from a retailer are safe for use or consumption. If retailers make false claims or provide testimonials about a product’s safety, a court might find them liable, even if they didn’t design or manufacture the defective product.
- A product franchisor. Licensors and franchisors face the same risk as retailers for liability when they market or represent a product.
Product liability claims typically involve one or more of the previously listed parties, making it difficult to determine fault in some cases. Pennsylvania does employ strict liability in manufacturing defect cases, which means that the court will automatically hold a company liable for its defective product, and your attorney only has to show that the product led to your injuries. If you or a loved one has suffered harm as a result of a defective product, you should retain qualified legal counsel to investigate your accident, determine liability, and build a strong case against those who caused you harm.
Statute of Limitations in Pennsylvania Product Liability Claims
If you or a loved one has suffered harm because of a defective product, you have a limited time to bring a lawsuit against the party or parties who might be liable. In the event that the liable parties committed fraud to try to cover up the defect, your statute of limitations time clock does not begin until you discover the injury, or until you should have reasonably discovered your injury in the eyes of the court. This won’t apply to every product liability case, but it can be relevant for chemical exposure or other injuries that you might not immediately notice.
In the unfortunate event that a defective product caused a fatal injury to your child or spouse, you might be eligible to seek compensation in a wrongful death suit, as long as you take legal action within the two-year statute of limitations window for Pennsylvania wrongful death claims. You should speak with an attorney regarding your eligibility to file a wrongful death claim.
Defensive Strategies in Pennsylvania Product Liability Cases
Regardless of how obvious you believe it is that the other party in your accident caused the accident, that party might disagree. Even if the other party knows that he or she caused the accident, that party will likely attempt to defend himself or herself in order to avoid having to pay your damages. No one wants to pay for another individual’s injuries, and following an accident, at-fault parties may even convince themselves that they didn’t cause the accident.
The most common defensive strategy employed by defendants is to attempt to shift the blame to the injured plaintiff as a way to avoid some or all financial responsibility. Some of the most common strategies that defendants employ include:
- Arguing that you used the product outside of the manufacturer’s intended purpose
- Arguing that you changed or modified the product after you purchased it
- Arguing that you did not read the instructions or the warnings provided with the product
- Arguing that you should have known the dangers associated with the specific product
An experienced product liability attorney understands these defensive strategies and will know how to combat them. It’s important that you retain an experienced products liability attorney for your case so that you don’t fall victim to these defensive strategies, which can result in significantly lower compensation for you.
Philadelphia Product Liability Frequently Asked Questions
Take a minute to think about your day. What consumer products did you use? Now really think about it. In one day, you could use hundreds of products to get you through your daily tasks. This includes everything from your toothbrush and toothpaste, to larger products like your computer, television, and personal vehicle. In fact, the average person has 300,000 items in their home!
As consumers, we put trust in companies to design and manufacture safe products that work as advertised, and to warn us about any dangers of using a product. Companies that fail in this basic obligation by making products with dangerous defects put our health and lives at risk.
Unfortunately, defective products hit the shelves more often than they should. If you or a loved one sustained an injury because of a product that did not work as intended because of a defect, then you may have the right to seek substantial compensation through a product liability lawsuit. Below we answer some common questions about product liability lawsuits. For answers to detailed questions about an injury you sustained because of a defective product, contact the experienced Philadelphia product liability lawyers at the Levin Firm today.
What exactly does product liability mean?
Cornell Law School‘s Legal Information Institute defines product liability as “liability of any or all parties along the chain of manufacture of any product for damage caused by that product.” In other words, when a company sells a finished product for use by a person, all parties involved in the design, manufacturing, marketing, and distribution have a basic legal responsibility to ensure that the product is safe to use under normal and intended circumstances.
When a product does not meet this basic standard of quality and safety, serious injuries can occur. Consider what would happen if the brakes on your car suddenly failed, or if your child’s toy caught fire in direct sunlight. Product liability law addresses these sorts of harms by seeking compensation for injured people.
What makes a product defective?
Product liability lawsuits seek compensation for victims of a defective product.
Lawyers consider a product defective if it poses an unreasonable danger to the user when used in an intended or reasonably predictable manner.
Generally speaking, there are three categories of defect that can make a product unreasonably dangerous:
- Design defects: Design is a critically important component of product safety. A defective design can affect the entire product line by making all products a manufacturer makes unreasonably dangerous. Examples of products with design defects include topheavy furniture that is prone to tipping, cars with shapes or parts that make them unsafe in a crash, or tools missing appropriate safety guards.
- Manufacturing defects: Remember the case of the exploding batteries? In 2016, Samsung issued a voluntary recall for its Galaxy Note 7. The reason—the phone’s battery had the potential to explode. According to reports, the explosions were the result of “a very rare manufacturing process error.” Manufacturing defects affect specific versions or production-runs of a product, usually resulting from a mistake or breakdown in the manufacturing line.
- Inadequate warning defects: Some products have inherent dangers even when used as intended. Examples include power tools, household chemicals, and kitchen appliances can cause harm even when someone uses them for their intended purpose, if the users do not exercise caution. Manufacturers have a duty to warn consumers about these potential dangers. Perhaps one of the biggest product liability lawsuits involving inadequate warnings was the 2002 lawsuit against cigarette manufacturer Phillip Morris. The plaintiff claimed she developed lung cancer because the company did not provide a warning that smoking was dangerous. Consequently, all cigarettes now require a health warning on the packaging.
Often, the nature of the defect is not obvious to the person the product harms. Fortunately, an experienced Philadelphia product liability attorney can investigate and determine what happened.
As a consumer, follow this rule of thumb to help you figure out when to speak with a product liability attorney: ask yourself whether the product that injured you worked as expected when you used it as expected. If not, then you may have a product liability claim for compensation.
Are any products exempt from product liability laws?
For the most part, no. Almost all manufacturers are subject to product liability. However, manufacturers in some industries enjoy special protections from liability in certain cases, perhaps none more so than the pharmaceutical industry. As an example, under federal law, a vaccine manufacturer can not be held liable for damages resulting from someone suffering unavoidable adverse side-effects of a vaccine, nor from failing to provide a warning about those side effects. (Of course, manufacturers could still face liability for, say, injuries caused by a tainted vaccine.)
Manufacturing industries of all stripes constantly lobby Congress and state legislatures to build protections for themselves against product liability into laws. It is important to hire an experienced Philadelphia product liability lawyer who stays on top of the constant developments in the law to represent you in any claim involving a defective product injury.
Is it hard to prove a product liability case?
Sometimes, but that is why you need an experienced product liability lawyer on your side.
Big corporations never want to admit that they produced a dangerously defective product, and they often put up a hard fight. In some cases, one consumer’s lawsuit could pose a threat to the entire business. A Philadelphia product liability suit can cost tens of millions of dollars to defend, and can lead to hundreds of millions, even billions, of dollars in liability.
Experienced Philadelphia product liability lawyers have the skill and resources to match big corporations blow-for-blow in a legal fight.
To prove their clients’ cases, they often:
- Hire expert witnesses: Expert witnesses—especially design engineers and forensic scientists—tend to play an outsized role in product liability cases, because victims’ lawyers must prove the existence of a defect, if not also its cause.
- Represent multiple victims as a class: Sometimes, the most effective way to take the fight to a manufacturer that made a dangerous product is to assert claims on behalf of lots of consumers all at once, in what is known as a class action Representing consumers as a class can give lawyers the ability to force corporations to own up to widespread defects and to take steps to protect against more people getting hurt.
- Work with whistleblowers: Sometimes, a brave employee of a manufacturer may step forward to reveal that the company knew about, and failed to address, a potentially dangerous defect in its products.
Do I still have a case if the manufacturer recalled the product?
A company that learns of a defect in its product may issue a public recall to halt the distribution of the product and to urge customers to return any product they have already purchased. In many cases, a recall represents the right thing to do.
A product recall does not automatically wipe away the company’s liability for harm done by its products, however. However, issuing a recall also does not automatically make the manufacturer liable for injuries that have occurred.
Speak with an experienced Philadelphia product liability injury lawyer today to learn about your rights after suffering injuries caused by a recalled defective product.
What should I do if I am injured by a product?
Your health and safety take top priority. If you sustain a serious injury while using a product, seek medical attention right away.
After you ensure you are not in immediate danger, you can help protect your legal rights by taking these steps:
- Preserve evidence: Do not throw away the product that injured you. Also, take pictures of any visible injury and of the product itself. If anyone saw what happened, get their contact information if necessary.
- Attend all follow-up care: Go to the doctor for follow-up care for treatment after your initial injury. Not only with this help you see maximum improvement, but it can help prove your injuries. If you do not go to the doctor, the other party’s attorney may try to claim your injuries were not severe enough to warrant compensation.
- Contact an experienced attorney: Product liability cases are complex. They may involve multiple parties in different jurisdictions. Now is the time you want someone by your side who knows the legal system and can effectively argue your case. Be selective when you choose which attorney you want to work with. It’s almost always a good idea to work with an attorney who has direct experience working on your type of case.
How much is my case worth?
One of the most common questions Philadelphia product liability attorneys hear is, “What is my case worth?” This is a valid question. After an injury, you have to think about your medical care, missing time at work, and other financial concerns. A Philadelphia product liability case may help you recover badly needed compensation.
The value of a case can vary widely. Every case is different and even two cases against the same manufacturer can produce substantially different results. As a general matter, however, a claim seeking compensation for product liability may seek payment for economic and non-economic damages.
Economic damages. Economic damages are those with a direct monetary value. For example, this may include items or services you pay for out of pocket or money you lose as the result of your injuries.
Economic damages include:
- Medical bills, including doctor visits, surgeries, rehabilitation, medical devices, and medication.
- Lost wages for any time you miss from work. For serious injuries, this may include future lost wages.
- Loss of services if you do not work but need to pay for household services including housekeeping, cooking, and yard work.
- Residential modifications if your injuries limit accessibility to and throughout your home.
Non-economic damages. Non-economic damages are often referred to as pain and suffering. These damages compensate the victim for any injury for which there is not a direct economic value. While a jury or insurance company can easily calculate the cost of economic damages, non-economic damages are more subjective.
These damages may include:
- Physical pain
- Mental distress, including anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and depression
- Humiliation
- Loss of enjoyment
- Loss of companionship
Punitive damages. In some cases, a court may award punitive damages. The purpose of punitive damages is to prevent other parties from repeating the behavior of the defendant. For product liability cases, punitive damages may be appropriate in cases of gross negligence.
How long do I have to file a case?
Under Pennsylvania’s statute of limitations, victims have two years from the date of their injury to file a Philadelphia product liability lawsuit. In the case of a delayed injury, such as cancer, the statute of limitations may not begin until the victim discovers the injury and its connection to the defective product. Missing the statute of limitations window can result in loss of legal rights to compensation.
Two years is not that much time when it comes to product liability cases. That’s why it’s typically a good idea to contact an experienced Philadelphia product liability attorney right away after suffering any injury because of a defective product. The sooner you speak with an attorney, the better your chances of recovering the maximum compensation you deserve for your injuries and losses.
As consumers, we should be able to trust that the products we use are safe. Manufacturers of defective products that harm consumers should face legal and financial accountability. Forcing manufacturers to pay for the harm their products cause will not take away your pain, but it can help you get the treatment you need and assist you in regaining your health and rebuilding your life. Holding manufacturers accountable may also protect other consumers from suffering similar harm because of a dangerous product.
If you think you might have a product liability case, help is available. To learn more about your legal rights or begin your product liability case, contact one of our experienced Philadelphia product liability attorneys.
Get the Legal Help You Need Today From the Levin Firm
When negligent and careless manufacturers put defective products on the market, individuals and families can suffer devastation if a severe injury occurs. In addition to the physical pain of injury and recovery, the aftermath of an injury adds financial burden and emotional stress to victims and their families. Medical bills are likely piling up, and at the same time, a victim may be unable to work because of his or her injury.
Companies who make, promote, and sell defective products must be held accountable for their negligence, so that you receive compensation for your injuries and so that future consumers don’t have to go through the same pain and anguish as you. At the Levin Firm, we understand the challenging times that lie ahead for you, and we are here to help. We can handle the details of your case, investigate your injury, communicate with insurance companies, and fight your case in court if settlement isn’t an option.
If you live in the Greater Philadelphia area, you can reach the Levin Firm by calling (215) 825-5183, or contact us online, to schedule a free consultation with one of our experienced product liability lawyers. During your consultation, we will evaluate your case and determine what is your best path forward following your accident. If you choose the Levin Firm to represent you in your product liability lawsuit, we handle product liability cases on a contingency fee basis, collecting our attorney fees from any compensation that we secure for you in the form of an insurance settlement or verdict in your favor. Thus, you aren’t on the hook for any up-front, out-of-pocket expenses.