Defective Product Lawyers in Baltimore
From cars and electronics to children’s toys and appliances, we trust that the products we use every day are safe. Sadly, many companies cut corners when they design or test their products, leaving consumers vulnerable to severe injuries. Expensive medical bills can compound these challenges by causing financial stress for users who’ve already suffered injuries.
If you sustained injuries after using a dangerous product, Greenberg Law Offices can represent you in your fight for maximum compensation. Our Baltimore product liability lawyers have represented injured Maryland residents for three generations and have over 100 years of combined experience to put at your disposal. We can manage your legal case while you heal and focus on other matters.
Call now or complete our contact form for a free, no-obligation consultation. You pay nothing unless we win compensation for your case.
Why You Should Hire a Baltimore Attorney for Your Product Liability Claim
A Baltimore product liability attorney is an essential ally if you’ve been hurt by a defective product in Maryland. These cases often hinge on details that might be confusing to the layperson. Winning them often requires the help of the engineering and product design experts with whom defective product lawyers have longstanding relationships.
Your lawyer can also handle the fine details of your case, including calculating the full personal and financial costs of the injuries you’ve suffered. They’ll also draft and file complaints, gather medical records to support your claim, and negotiate with liable parties for a fair settlement. Should the liable parties not make you a reasonable offer, your lawyer can take them to court and present your case at trial.
An experienced attorney can also protect you from making the common mistakes that could jeopardize your claim. These may include giving a recorded statement without preparing first or handing over medical records because an insurance adjuster asked for them. Simply put, a product liability lawyer is better positioned to win your case, get you the full amount you’re owed, and do so more efficiently than you could pursue your claim yourself.
What Does Product Liability Mean?
Product liability is the legal concept that companies involved in designing, making, marketing, and selling a product must ensure the product is safe when used correctly. Companies that don’t properly test their products or warn users of potential risks may be liable for a consumer’s injuries and other losses, such as medical bills and lost income.
Most personal injury cases are based on negligence: that one party’s carelessness injured a second party, making the first party financially responsible for the consequences of those injuries. However, a defective product’s manufacturers and designers can be held strictly liable for any injuries resulting from using the product. The lower burden of proof in these circumstances helps protect consumers while encouraging manufacturers and designers to make sure their products are safe.
What Compensation Can I Recover for Defective Product Injuries?
Depending on your injuries, medical expenses, and other factors, your compensation in a product defect claim in Baltimore or elsewhere in Maryland could include money for the following:
- Current and future medical expenses related to your injuries
- Lost income while you heal
- Reduced future earnings due to a disability
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Diminished quality of life due to a disability
What Should I Do if a Defective Product Hurts Me or a Loved One?
If you or someone you know sustains injuries from a defective product, you should do the following:
- Seek Immediate Medical Attention – Go to a doctor immediately, no matter how bad your injuries seem. First and foremost, you may have hidden injuries or symptoms that may get worse without medical attention. Second, seeing a doctor right away shows your injuries are serious and lets your doctor document what happened. You’ll need those notes for a future product liability claim.
- Preserve the Defective Product – You want to save the product that injured you for later scrutiny if at all possible. That way, your lawyer and expert investigators can examine it to identify any defects. It’s also smart to save the product’s packaging and any documents that came with it (if you have them).
- Don’t Discuss Your Case – Avoid talking about the incident or your injuries with anyone other than a lawyer. You might say or do something that weakens your case, and you don’t want to give the defendant or their insurers anything to use against you. If the product’s manufacturer or an insurer contacts you, don’t give them any statements and direct them to your lawyer.
- Hire a Product Liability Lawyer in Baltimore – An attorney can investigate the incident and identify the defect in a product while you rest and recuperate. Your lawyer can also calculate the fair cost of your claim, communicate that figure to liable parties and their insurers, and seek a settlement or verdict that fully accounts for what you’ve suffered.
Who Is Liable if I Am Injured or Damaged by a Defective Product?
Any party involved in designing, manufacturing, selling, or marketing a defective product could be liable for your injuries. The potentially liable parties in these cases include the following:
- The Product’s Designer – Some products have inherent design flaws that make them dangerous or defective, such as children’s toys with small, detachable parts that a child could swallow. In these cases, the company that designed the defective product is liable for any injuries resulting from using the product.
- The Product’s Manufacturer – Companies that cut corners or use unsuitable materials when manufacturing a product can make the product unsafe even if its design is sound. For example, a company that manufactures brake pads but makes them too thin for effective use could be liable if their defective brakes cause a crash.
- Distributors and Wholesalers – A distributor or wholesaler could be liable for injuries from a defective product if they knew about the defect and sold the product anyway.
- Individual Retailers – Store owners can also be liable for knowingly selling defective products.
When you meet with a Baltimore product liability lawyer from Greenberg Law Offices, we can assess your case to determine who could be responsible for your injuries.
What Are Common Examples of Defective Products?
Some common examples of defective products include the following:
- Auto Parts — Brakes, airbags, seatbelts, tires
- Children’s Toys – Choking hazards, toxic materials
- Household Appliances – Fire hazards, electrical malfunctions
- Medical Devices – Faulty implants, pacemakers, or prosthetics
- Medications – Contaminated drugs, incorrect dosages, unlabeled side effects
- Food Products – Bacterial contamination, mislabeled allergens
- Electronics – Overheating batteries, fire risks
- Power Tools – Unsafe guards, faulty wiring
- Furniture – Unstable chairs, dressers prone to tipping over
- Beauty Products – Harmful chemicals, allergic reactions
What Are the Different Kinds of Defective Product Liability Claims?
The following are three main kinds of defective product liability claims, each relating to a different type of defect that can cause injuries or deaths:
If something about a product’s design makes it inherently dangerous to users, injured users may have a design defect claim against the product’s designer. Proving a product has a defective design requires careful analysis from trained experts. Injured users must also show how the defect directly caused their injuries.
In a manufacturing defect claim, an injured user argues that something about the process used to make the product made it defective and dangerous. Proving these claims requires in-depth knowledge of highly technical manufacturing processes, but an experienced lawyer can consult expert witnesses to build a strong case. As with design defect claims, winning a manufacturing defect claim requires an injured user to show how the defect directly caused their injuries.
A marketing defect means that consumers were not adequately instructed about how to safely use a product or about specific hazards presented by the product. A common example of the latter type of marketing defect is a pharmaceutical company’s failure to warn patients about a drug’s potential side effects or contraindications.
What If a Family Member Dies as a Result of a Defective Product?
If someone in your family dies from using a defective product, you may have grounds for a wrongful death claim against the manufacturer. You would have to show how the product was defective and that the defect directly caused your family member’s death.
These cases are difficult to win, but an experienced product liability lawyer can help you seek fair compensation, including money for the following:
- Your deceased family member’s medical bills and lost income
- Funeral and burial expenses
- Your loss of financial and emotional support from your deceased family member
How Long Do I Have to File a Defective Product Liability Claim in Maryland?
In most cases, you must file a product liability lawsuit within three years of the date you suffered your injuries. However, you may have additional time to file if you didn’t discover your injuries right away. In these situations, the three-year countdown starts when you discover or reasonably should have discovered your injuries. Don’t count on having extra time to file a lawsuit; instead, contact a lawyer immediately so they can preserve your right to compensation.
