Houston Defective Products Lawyer
Dangerous Product lawsuits are frequently handled by Joe Stephens. His two board certifications show he has special competence in this field. He has a legendary reputation when it comes to battling giant companies such as Tyco Health Care, General Motors, and Ford. Right now, he is handling a case which will affect the safety of children on a large scale across the United States. An infant was brain damaged when its breathing frequency monitor failed. As it turns out, the company which made the monitor had 50 complaints documenting the machines defects, yet failed to fix the problem or to recall it. Then, it mislead the FDA into allowing them to leave it on the market. He has hired the best product and safety engineers in the world to show the jury the truth about this product so she can recover enough money to pay for her care for the rest of her life. In his 22 years of practice, he has tried over 100 jury trials, with many of these trials involving dangerous products. When evaluating a lawyer in this area, it is essential to hire someone with courtroom experience. Of course, your case will be evaluated on its own merits, and other cases handled by Joe Stephens do not measure the worth of your important case.
What is Product Liability and Defective Product law about?
Whether you buy something from a big-box retailer, midsize market, outlet store, mall, or small grocer, you expect the product to be safe. However, sometimes you may buy a product that injures you, and product liability and defective product law dictates who is responsible for this breach of the implied warranty of fitness for the products intended uses. The place from where you purchased the product, the company that made the product, or even the company that advertised the product may be legally held responsible for your injury. These companies may be legally liable even if the product was loaned to you or given as a gift.
Who may be sued?
The company that designed or manufactured the defective product can be held legally responsible. Every manufacturer on the supply chain between the manufacturer to the consumer can be held liable. Also, the sellers of the defective product (the store from where you purchased the item) and the middlemen may be held liable (like the distributors and wholesalers), too.
What is the law concerning dangerous products?
There are three main ways in which a product may be found
legally defective: design, manufacturing, and marketing
defects.
Defective Design
Sometimes, the defect in the product originates from the design
itself. For example, a water heaters faulty
design could cause scalds or burns, or a
automobiles defective design could cause
fire. It is the responsibility of the designer to create safe
products. A defective design may be caught after the items have
been sold. If that happens, the company will usually issue a
product recall. Unfortunately for some consumers, the recall will
happen after they are injured by the defective product, or the
consumers will never learn of the recall. Many thousands of
recalls happen each year.
Sometimes, the designer will not perform adequate testing of their design. Proper testing of the design is critical because consumers depend on the implied warranty of safety of the products they purchase. For example, a parent depends on the designer of a breathing frequency monitor, or a child safety seat to provide an safely designed product for the child. A company that does not properly test for the safety of their products may be liable to those injured by the defective products.
- Defective Manufacturing
In some instances, a faulty manufacturing procedure will
result in the creation of a defective product despite a safe
design. For instance, some years ago, a number of hip replacement
surgery patients began to experience gruesome and agonizing
complications after their new hip was installed. After much
turmoil and investigation, it was discovered that during the
manufacturing of the hip, as a result of the manufacturer cutting
corners too save a few bucks, the artificial hip was not being
adequately cleaned after it was machined. This resulted in many
patients experiencing rejection; many patients were left
agonizing after the brutal and bogglingly expensive
operation.
If you think you have been injured from a defective product,
contact the product liability attorneys at our law firm, we have
extensive experience in product liability and defective product
law to discuss your case.
- Defective Marketing
Sometimes, a company will provide inadequate instructions with their product. A company has the legal duty to provide clear safety instructions that are easily understood by the general public. A company must also adequately warn consumers of the dangers of using the product.
For example, the manufacturer of a concrete truck with its large rolling drum is may have pinch points which could trap a workers arm, or other piece of heavy equipment is responsible for warning the consumer of the foreseeable dangers of using the product. This includes the necessity of warning against roll over dangers, the need for proper safety gear, or any other type of warning that is traditionally seen on the decal accompanying various products
Who may sue?
Of course, the person injured by the defective product may bring a legal action against the company responsible. Aside from the user of the defective product, even bystanders can sue for their injuries. Additionally, bystanders who are not injured may also bring a claim if they witness a close family member sustaining an injury. The spouse, or children of an injured party may also bring a claim for the wrongful death of a loved one.
What can we help you recover?
The law provides the following elements of damages to be recovered in a product liability action in Texas:
- Medical bills
- Emotional torment
- Loss of Wage earning capacity
- Physical Impairment
- Pain and suffering
- Punitive damages
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