Every year, thousands of people across the country are injured using a wide variety of products. Those products can range from Chinese Drywall, to Fixodent products, and unfortunately include children’s toys as well. Some injuries can have serious and long-lasting consequences. You may be entitled to compensation if your injury was the result of a defective product.
Products Need to be Safe
Companies who put defective products on the shelves should be held accountable. It’s your right as a consumer to seek justice. So what do you do? A defective products attorney can offer you advice, evaluate your product liability claim, and guide you through the process of pursuing legal action
There are many reasons products are defective:
- Manufacturing Flaw of Defect
- Design Flaw or Defect
- Inadequate Instructions or Warnings
Defective Products Recalled
The most important thing to do is if you’ve been injured in any way is to seek medical attention. After getting appropriate medical care, consult with an attorney who has handled defective product lawsuits before to help you through the process.
After that, there are important steps you should take.
The first thing to do is to see if the product has actually been recalled. You can find out which products have been by visiting the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s website. They regularly posts articles about recent recalls.
What if it’s been a few months since you think your product was recalled? Sometimes it can take a long for consumers to find out if a product has been pulled off the shelves. In some cases you may be entitled to a refund or even compensation.
Check for Recalls
What if the product that injured you has not been recalled? The manufacturer who made it could still be responsible for injuries caused by reasonable use of the product. There are several ways to report a dangerous product to the Consumer Product Safety Commission:
- online through their web site: www.cpsc.gov,
- by email at hazard@cpsc.gov,
- by phone at 1-800-638-2772,
- by faxing them at 1-800-809-0924, or
- by mailing them at US Consumer Product Safety Commission, Injury Report, Washington, DC 20207.
Keep the Defective Product, It May Be Your Best Evidence
It’s normal to want to immediately call the company and complain, but that can pose some risks of its own.
Often the negligence of the manufacturing company is what caused you harm in the first place. The risk in contacting the company is that they often request the product back to examine and confirm the defect or dangerous design. That could erase your best evidence should you need to pursue a legal remedy. Your personal injury attorney will want the product tested by an independent expert, but it will be too late if you have already returned the product.
Get the Help of an Attorney
If you or someone you know has been injured by defective or dangerous product and feel that you may be owed financial compensation, we urge you to contact one of our lawyers as soon as possible to protect your legal rights. 803.252.4800.
Strom Law Firm is a personal injury and criminal defense law firm centrally located in Columbia, South Carolina. Our firm proudly handles personal injury, criminal defense, defective products, class actions, pharmaceutical liability, toxic torts, medical malpractice, nursing home neglect, workers compensation, social security, veteran’s benefits, qui tam, predatory lending, tax investigations, business litigation, and wills and estate needs. Our lawyers proudly edit the Columbia, South Carolina Injury Board as well as the Strom Law Blog as a pro bono effort to provide the public with valuable information. Our lawyers are licensed in: South Carolina, New York, and Georgia