What To Do If Injured By A Defective Product

When you purchase a product to use or consume, the last thing you expect is that a defect will cause harm to you or your family. However, defective products make it to the marketplaces and into our homes on a regular basis. If you or somebody you love has sustained an injury or illness caused by a faulty product, there are various steps that you can take to help ensure your well-being and maintain the integrity of any possible product liability claim.

Seek Medical Treatment

After any type of injury or illness caused by a defective product, victims must seek medical treatment as soon as possible. Even if there are no signs and symptoms of injuries after a product defect incident, we encourage all individuals involved to seek medical treatment for an evaluation from a doctor. Often, the signs and symptoms of some injuries do not appear until hours or even days after the incident.

Prompt medical treatment is important for product liability claims because it establishes a link between the injuries or the illness and the actual incident in question. The longer the gap between medical treatment and the incident, the more insurance carriers or legal teams are likely to push back against the claim.

Document the Incident

Individuals involved in a product defect incident should do everything they can to obtain and preserve evidence. Depending on the situation involved, the evidence needed to establish what happened may look different. However, if individuals can use their phone or some other type of camera to take photographs of the product or the area in question, as well as the injuries, this could help. Additionally, if there is any surveillance footage that may have recorded what happened, this footage could be immensely useful.

Eyewitnesses to a product liability incident can provide statements about what they saw. Their names and contact information should be written down and passed to a product liability lawyer.

Contact a Product Liability Lawyer

A skilled defective product lawyer in Connecticut should be consulted as soon as possible after an incident occurs. When an attorney gets involved, they will use their resources to completely investigate the incident and help individuals get through the claims process. This includes communicating with insurance carriers and other parties on behalf of their client. 

Because of the complex nature of product liability claims, handling the case without legal assistance is one of the quickest ways to have an unsuccessful case. Not only one attorney handle all of the negotiations and communication on behalf of their client, but they will also prepare the case for trial if that is what is necessary to secure compensation.

Understanding Strict Liability

Many defective product claims are handled on a strict liability basis. This means that the plaintiff (the person bringing the claim) does not necessarily have to prove that a manufacturer, retailer, or company was negligent or that their negligence caused the damages. All that needs to be shown is that the product was indeed defective, that the product caused the injury or illness, property damage, or fatality, and that the product was used as intended.

There are other types of claims that can be filed after a product defect causes damages, including a claim based on negligence as well as a breach of warranty claim. We encourage you to speak to your product liability lawyer to gain an understanding of the best route toward securing compensation for your losses.