When you buy something, you expect it to work as it’s intended. It shouldn’t cause you any harm and should be safe. Sometimes the opposite happens. When a product is defective, even when you use it correctly, it can cause you harm and damages.
Our Lewisburg product liability lawyer is here to represent you when a product you used was defective and hurt you. You shouldn’t have to suffer because of a manufacturer, seller, or other party’s negligence. At Stapp Law, LLC, we are here to protect your rights and get you justice.
Pennsylvania Product Liability Law
Product manufacturers, knowing sellers, and other parties responsible for the creation and distribution of a product are required to make that product safe for consumers when used as intended. They have a duty to test the product and ensure it is free from effects that could be dangerous. If they ignore this duty and push their product without testing or consideration, this can harm or kill consumers.
Even if a company does full testing, sometimes the outcome of a product is still harmful because of a defect. It’s their duty to regulate the process of creating and selling the product and how it should be used, examining all possibilities to keep the consumer safe.
In Pennsylvania, when a company or negligent party ignores safety and distributes a defective product, you can file a product liability claim. There are standards present in order to find the company negligent for their product, though. Here are the three main categories that a product must fall under in order to be considered for a product liability claim:
- Defective Design
- Manufacturing Defect
- Lack of Adequate Warning or Instructions
When at least one of these is present, then you can file a claim. It’s important to keep in mind other Pennsylvania law when you’re taking legal action, like the statute of limitations. In our state, you have two years to file a claim under the statute of limitations. If fraudulent concealment happened, then you could have more time under the discovery rule.
Another rule to be aware of is the statute of repose. In PA, you have 12 years. This means that when you buy and use a product, there is a time limit of when you can file a claim if the product doesn’t injure you right away. This means that if a product injures you after 10 years of use, then you are within the statute of repose.
Law can be confusing. That’s why our Lewisburg product liability attorney is here to help you. We have expertise and legal knowledge and can answer all your questions.
Types of Defective Products in Lewisburg
When you think of defective products, some things might readily come to mind, like the brakes in your car failing. However, defective products aren’t always major pieces of equipment that you use every day in heavy machinery. Sometimes they can be as small as a prescription pill that causes more damage than originally advertised.
Any product that injures you in ways that aren’t advertised or aren’t intended can be considered defective. That’s why it’s always important to be cautious—you never know what missed a step of inspection, wasn’t properly advertised, or is just dangerous by design.
Here are some of the different products that could have caused you to file your product liability claim in Lewisburg:
- Auto parts
- Medical devices
- Heavy machinery
- Household electronics
- Appliances
- Tools
- Scaffolding
- Ladders
- Batteries
- Toys
- Prescription drugs
- Over-the-counter drugs
- Weed killer
There are many other types of defective or dangerous products that could inflict injuries, illness, or other harm to consumers who use them as advised. Whether they were defective, improperly advertised, or didn’t come with a proper warning label, you don’t have to deal with this on your own.
Our Lewisburg product liability lawyer will represent you so that you can get compensation for the damages you’ve incurred. The negligent company should be held responsible for what they’ve done so you get justice and so others can be warned of a product’s potential dangers.
What Injuries Can a Defective Product Cause?
All of the defective or dangerous products listed above could lead to you suffering from an injury. In a product liability claim, one of the most crucial aspects of your case will be proving that the product caused you harm, which would mean you suffered an injury.
In order to prove this injury occurred and was a direct result of the defective product, you’ll need to be evaluated by a medical professional. That way, they can create a record that shows you experienced an injury directly after the use of that product, and the damage can be linked to the product.
The injuries that defective products can cause are widely varied because there are so many different types of products that could be defective. Here are some of those injuries you may have endured after using a dangerous product:
- Bruises
- Cuts and lacerations
- Burns
- Rashes
- Soft tissue injuries
- Broken bones
- Spinal cord injuries
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Organ damage
- Organ failure
- Infections
- Other illnesses
- Amputation
- Paralysis
- Cancer
- Death
Some products can cause mild injuries, and others can be more severe. Sometimes you don’t realize you’ve been affected until much later, like a cancer diagnosis from years of using a prescription drug that is later found to cause cancer.
It’s important to seek medical treatment as soon as you suspect you’ve been hurt by a product. Even if they start off mild, they can quickly escalate and turn serious, or even fatal.
Your doctor will be able to inform you if your injuries are linked to a product or not. If they are, you’ll likely have a claim against the company responsible for the defect. When you contact our Lewisburg product liability attorney, they’ll be able to guide you through the process to hold the liable company accountable.
Stapp Law, LLC Will Represent You
After you’ve been harmed by a defective product, you’re likely feeling vulnerable and unsure who to turn to. You can trust our Lewisburg product liability lawyer from Stapp Law, LLC to represent you against the company that hurt you.
We’ll handle the legal side of things so you can focus on your physical and emotional recovery. Contact our office today so we can schedule a free consultation to examine your potential claim and decide where to go from there.
