When you purchase a product, you trust that the manufacturers have made a safe product. But sometimes, that’s not always the case. Consumers may risk severe injuries, illness, or death if an item is defective or unreasonably dangerous. Even a tiny manufacturing process or design flaw can cause irreversible harm. If you or a loved one suffered an injury from a defective product, you could file a claim for compensation under the Washington, DC product liability law. Contact our product liability lawyers in Washington, DC, to discuss your legal options.
Contact Us Today to Schedule
A Free Consultation
Product liability refers to the obligation on the part of people responsible for a product’s design, manufacture, distribution, and sale to make sure it is safe for consumption. Every consumer has a fundamental right to purchase and use products safely without fearing danger. However, this does not always happen, and you must file a lawsuit to receive compensation for your injuries.
A product is considered defective when the victim can prove a flaw, makes it unsafe for its intended use, and causes an injury. As you can imagine, this can be difficult to achieve without the help of an experienced team of Washington, DC product liability lawyers.
A defective products lawyer can help guide you through your claim and make sure that you receive full compensation for your injuries. Defective product injury victims do not know whether a labeling, design, or manufacturing defect caused their accident. However, by hiring a product liability lawyer, they can investigate similar incidents involving the same product.
Additionally, it is difficult to take on the big companies and multinational corporations that produce many consumer products alone. A product liability attorney will have experience negotiating with large corporations and insurance companies to get the right compensation.
Sometimes, these types of personal injury lawsuits will go to trial. If that’s the case, it’s always smart to hire a personal injury firm with a record of success in the courtroom. Not all Washington, DC product liability lawyers have trial experience; it’s always best to research your attorneys and choose the one with the right qualifications.
If you believe that a product defect caused or contributed to your injuries, then contact the Washington, DC product liability lawyers at Regan Zambri Long today. We will thoroughly investigate the situation to find all possible liable parties so that you get the maximum amount of compensation you deserve. We have the trial experience needed for these types of personal injury matters and will not rest until you receive compensation for your injuries.
Table of Contents
Depending on the circumstances of the product that caused you harm, you might be able to hold the manufacturer, distributor, and possibly other parties accountable for your medical expenses and other damages. According to Washington, DC product liability law, defective products are categorized by one of these types of defects:
In some cases, the basic design of a product may present unreasonable hazards to users. The company could be liable for the design defect if the company knew before the product was manufactured yet failed to change the design flaw. A typical example is a vehicle design defect that causes rollover accidents, which may lead to severe and preventable injuries in a car crash.
Manufacturing defects can occur when the product unintentionally changes from its original design during production. Manufacturing defects are not necessarily the product of poor quality control but may result from using low-quality materials or poor workmanship. For instance, poor health standards at a food packaging plant may contaminate the food, causing potentially fatal food poisoning. If that occurs, a Washington, DC food poisoning lawyer can help.
Sometimes, a product may be safe only for specific uses and pose a significant danger if the product is not used as intended. Therefore, most consumer products must contain clear instructions and warning labels concerning the item’s correct use. An unintentional injury could occur if a company fails to include these labels. For example, if a drug interacts negatively with another medication, the pharmaceutical company must contain warnings to that effect.
Washington, DC product liability law allows you to seek compensation for your injuries and damages from the parties responsible for a defective product. However, there are different types of liability in a dangerous product claim. Depending on the circumstances, you may be able to file a product liability claim for:
Often, your product liability attorney must demonstrate that the liable party’s negligence resulted in a dangerous defect that caused your injuries. Generally, any act that falls below a standard of reasonable care is negligent. For example, a negligent company may disregard standard safety tests or ignore unfavorable results.
A warranty guarantees a given product and usually applies to an item’s use. The warranty can either be implied, such as mentioned in a marketing campaign or is spelled out right on the label or a piece of paper that comes with the product. If an accident or injury happens in the circumstances covered by this kind of guarantee, you may have grounds for a claim.
In a product liability claim, strict liability states that a product’s seller, distributor, or manufacturer is liable for the injuries, regardless of their actions, to ensure the product’s defect never happened. The product is so dangerous that the victim can sue for strict liability without proving negligence.
Additional laws may apply if there is evidence that a company knowingly misrepresented an item’s benefits or concealed product defects. Victims may receive further compensation in these cases, depending on state laws.
If your claim is successful, you could receive two types of compensation — economic and non-economic. Economic damages refer to compensation for monetary losses you may have experienced. These damages include:
Non-economic damages refer to non-monetary losses. Such examples include:
In very rare incidents, you may receive punitive damages. These damages are meant to punish the behavior of those who caused the injury.
Multiple parties can be held responsible in a product defect case. Anyone involved in creating and selling the product can be held accountable, including:
To determine who may be responsible for your injury, your Washington, DC product liability lawyer will need to investigate the claim to see what caused your injury and whether the producer or seller of the product knew the defect was present but did nothing to warn the public.
If a recalled dangerous product injures you, you can still file a product liability claim against the responsible party. Product recalls are often followed by a class action lawsuit, in which people hurt by a particular product sue the company that made it. But even if you are not part of a class action, you might still be able to file a case against the company that hurt you on your own.
Most of the time, class action lawsuits are a good idea for cases in which the individual impacts are not severe but taken as a whole, paint a picture of a product that’s extremely dangerous. For example, if many people get minor burns from a toaster oven, no single case may be worth a lot, but a class action can make a big difference.
On the other hand, individual cases are often suggested for more serious situations. If a defective product caused a lot of damage to one person, the best way for that person to get adequately compensated for their losses would be to file an individual case against the at-fault party.
If you are unsure about whether there is a recall on a product that caused an injury, it’s best to speak with our Washington, DC product liability lawyers right away to learn more.
It’s always best to have the dangerous product when filing a lawsuit. However, sometimes this is not possible. Either the item is destroyed, or you may have thrown it out after it created the injury. However, our experienced DC product liability lawyer will be able to investigate your claim thoroughly if you no longer have the item.
If the item was altered before the injury, it could affect the outcome of your case. It depends if the alteration of the product played a part in your injury. Your case might be safe if the modification didn’t contribute to the damage. It’s best to speak with our DC product liability lawyer to learn your legal options and case studies on unsafe or manufactured products, including medical devices.
The Washington, DC product liability attorneys at Regan Zambri Long have extensive experience with product liability injury claims and have represented cases of national significance. With decades of experience, an impressive track record, and multimillion-dollar verdicts and settlements, our product liability lawyers have the knowledge, resources, and expertise needed to handle your product liability claim.
Our Washington, DC personal injury attorneys understand how complex product liability claims can be, and we know what is needed for a successful lawsuit. Our Senior Partner Victor Long has been involved in product liability cases that have influenced the labeling and marketing of several products and medications. He was granted a US patent for a warning label developed for a case involving an infant severely injured in a fire caused by an extension cord. Additionally, Victor recovered $4.2 million for an injured child in one of the first cases involving defective playground equipment in Washington, DC.
Our defective product lawyers can investigate and enter the circumstances of your injuries and take the steps needed to identify all liable parties. If a defective product injured you, call Regan Zambri Long today at (202) 960-4596 or contact us online to schedule a free consultation.