Montgomery Product Liability Lawyer

Our local and state economy thrives on the sale and consumption of all different consumer goods and products. And the designers, manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers of these goods and products are responsible to consumers to keep their products free of defects. They can be held liable if they release a dangerous product that injures or even kills someone. This is called product liability.

Consumer products must be designed, manufactured, tested, marketed, and sold under natural and safe conditions. This includes everything from your medication to your furniture to your car. If a manufacturer or retailer violates or ignores these laws and conditions, they can endanger the public with products that put consumers at risk of personal injury. A defective product can cause a sudden injury or accident or cause an injury or condition that develops over time.

If you experienced an injury and loss because of a defective or dangerous product, you might have a product liability claim. The Montgomery attorneys at Mezrano Law Firm have decades of experience in this area of law and can protect you against corporations who put profit over safety. Call us today.

Common types of product defects

When you purchase a new product, you don’t expect it to hurt or seriously injure you. If this happens, you may have a claim against the manufacturer, distributor, wholesaler or another party, depending upon what type of defect occurred.

The three types of defects include:

• Defective design. When a design is defective, it means how it’s designed makes it dangerous. A real-life example of this is vehicles with top-heavy designs that make them likely to roll over during sharp turns. With a design flaw, every product manufactured will have the same defect.
• Defective manufacturing. Sometimes products end up for sale or on shelves with flaws the manufacturer didn’t intend to exist. One example might be a batch of tables missing important screws. Generally, manufacturing defects only occur in small clusters rather than an entire line of products.
• Inadequate warning or instructions. Certain types of products are dangerous, like power tools and knives. However, some products need labels and instructions warning people of possible side effects and hazards of misusing the product.

If you’re wondering if your injury or condition came from a defective product, talk to our product liability attorneys for advice.

Elements of product liability claims in Montgomery

When a product causes injury because of poor design, defective manufacture, or inadequate or inaccurate labeling, you may seek financial compensation for your losses and damages.

You and your lawyer can pursue a claim based on the following:

• Negligence. This means that the manufacturer’s lack of care regarding the product led directly to your injuries. Negligence can happen during any phase of the product lifecycle, from design, manufacturing, testing, warehousing, marketing, wholesaling, and retailing.
• Strict liability. Under strict liability, you only need to show that a product defect existed and you were injured as a result. You don’t need to prove whether or not the manufacturer knew that the product was dangerous; rather that it injured you and you were not at fault.
• Breach of warranty. When you purchase a product, you rely on the manufacturer’s warranties. Warranties mean the manufacturer specifies the development works in a certain way. If that fails and causes injury, the manufacturer can be held liable.

Who is liable for defective product injuries?

If you have suffered injury from a dangerous or defective product, you may be eligible for compensation. The liable party could be the product manufacturer, retailer or wholesaler. Or, you could be eligible to seek compensation from more than one party. Liable and negligent parties could include:

• Manufacturer. The product manufacturer is the first in the product supply chain. And unfortunately, many defective products are designed that way from the start. Other times, products end up with defects in the manufacturing process. The manufacturer is the party most often held liable for injuries or fatalities.
• Retailer. The product retailer can also be held liable when a defective product injures a consumer, even if they didn’t manufacture it themselves. The retailer is part of the distribution process and supply chain. With defective product lawsuits against retailers, you don’t have to be the product's buyer or user.
• Wholesaler. Wholesalers are sometimes involved in the distribution chain between the manufacturer and retailer, so they can also be held liable in the event of a consumer injury.

Again, any or all of these parties may be held liable for your injuries or your loved one’s wrongful death.

Recovering damages in Montgomery product liability claims

Recovering from injuries after an accident from a dangerous product can take a long time. It’s unfair that you should struggle to pay medical bills and lose time from work. You’re entitled to seek compensation for your damages. These can include:

• Economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages are meant to compensate the victim for their injuries. This can include past and future medical expenses, physical therapy, past and future loss of wages, loss of earning capacity, and other financial losses. Non-economic damages are to compensate a victim for pain and suffering, emotional trauma, loss of companionship and loss of enjoyment of life.
• Punitive damages. In wrongful death cases, the court will award punitive damages to punish the defendant. Typically, punitive damages are designed to both punish the guilty party and deter others from doing the same thing, but in Alabama, they are the only kind of damages allowed for wrongful death claims.

Smart, honest Montgomery product liability attorneys

When a company puts its profits over your safety, and you suffer injury, the product liability lawyers at Mezrano Law Firm can help. We protect your right to compensation and take on the big manufacturers, so you don’t have to. We’re dedicated to protecting consumers from dangerous products.