San Diego Defective Products Attorney

Hurt by a Defective Consumer Product? You Have Rights

We assume the products we use daily have been rigorously tested and deemed safe for consumers before we use them, but in some cases, defective or poorly designed products can slip through the safety guidelines and make it into our homes. When a defective product causes you injury, you have rights.

Unlike most personal injury cases, defective product cases don’t require the injury victim to prove negligence, recklessness, or misconduct. Instead, when an injury occurs in a way that should have been reasonably foreseeable during normal product use, the product manufacturer is liable for the injury. Defects that can lead to a product liability claim include the following:

• Manufacturing defects occur when a product isn’t assembled correctly or is damaged during assembly
• Design defects occur when a flaw in a product’s design causes an inherent danger even when it’s used correctly
• Inadequate safety warnings sometimes cause injury when a user isn’t properly informed of the product’s danger during normal use or when misused in foreseeable ways

If you used a product that you thought was safe and sustained an injury due to any of the above causes, you have the right to compensation for your injury.

Common Types of Defective Products

Consumers experience injuries due to many types of product defects, often in products we use every day. Some of the most common defective products resulting in liability include:

• Medical devices
• Medications
• Children’s toys
• Household appliances
• Cleaning products
• Cosmetics
• Industrial machinery and equipment
• Cars, boats, motorcycles, bicycles, and other vehicles, including parts and components such as airbags and brakes
• Pesticides

Some well-known examples of defective products that cause harm are asbestos building materials and poorly designed children’s sleeping environments.

What Kind of Compensation Can I Expect in a Defective Product Case?

If you’ve been harmed by a product you used in a reasonable way and a defect caused an accident or injury, you are entitled to compensation for your damages. Damages in defective product cases typically include the following:

• Medical expenses and future medical expenses for further treatment, surgery, or therapy
• Lost wages and future lost wages
• Pain and suffering
• Loss of quality of life in cases of severe injury resulting in disability or impairment

Many accident victims don’t realize that they have a right to expect compensation when a defective product causes them harm. An attorney can help you understand your rights in California in a defective product injury case and fight aggressively for your compensation even against typical defenses used in product liability cases.

Common Defenses Used in Defective Product Cases

Manufacturers and designers are often willing to settle product liability cases out of court; however, in some cases, manufacturers may take the following defenses into a courtroom in an attempt to minimize your claim for compensation:

• The plaintiff used the product negligently
• The product wasn’t defective when it left the care of the defendant
• The defendant isn’t the designer or manufacturer responsible for the defect
• The injured person used the product in a way that wasn’t foreseeable or reasonable
• The product was altered, repaired, or modified negligently
• The plaintiff didn’t adequately prove their injuries and related damages were due to the defective product

It’s important to note that California’s comparative fault laws mean that a victim can still receive compensation even if they are partly at fault in an accident, including a product liability case. The amount of compensation a victim may gain is reduced by the percentage of fault they share in the accident.

Why Choose Our San Diego Defective Product Attorneys?