Baltimore Product Liability Attorney
Did you ever stop to think how many consumer products you use in a day? In our modern post-industrial society, we depend on a plethora of products to accomplish our daily tasks and activities. New products come out every day and are marketed to the public as being a way to enhance the quality of our lives. Design, production, marketing, and distribution of the products we use are the basis for our economy. Owning and using products in many different categories gives us the lifestyle to which we have long since become accustomed.
That said, how often do those very things that we are told will enhance our lives actually harm them instead? Who even entertains the possibility that one of the products that we own may cause an injury—or even the death—of a family member? We typically move blithely through life assuming that if a product is available to purchase, it must be safe.
Unfortunately, this is far from being the case. In fact, people are injured and killed in the course of routine use of consumer products every day. When this occurs, the injured person has recourse against various parties in the distribution chain that ended with their use of the dangerous product—from the designer to the manufacturer, to the maker of one of the product’s components, to the wholesaler, the packager, the marketer, or the retailer from whom the product was purchased.
Many, many defective products make it to the market. Just look at the number of recalls we hear about. Cars, tires, electronics, toys, baby products, recreational equipment, drugs, medical devices—the list goes on and on. Rarely does a recall take place until the company has no choice, because of the reports of injuries and even deaths that it receives. Unfortunately, in the business world, profits often seem to trump people.
If you have been harmed while using any product in its original, unaltered condition, you may be able to recover money in compensation for your damages. Of course you’ll want to be sure you have a good Baltimore defective product injury lawyer who is familiar with the way these cases work and knows how to win them.
Liability in a Defective Product Case
In a typical personal injury cause of action you, through your attorney, will need to prove that whoever you believe was responsible for causing your injury was negligent, and that by his or her behavior or act violated a duty of care owed to you. This is not the case with product liability cases. If you are injured or a member of your family is killed by a defective product, there is no requirement to prove negligence. Product defect cases, for the most part, are governed by the legal doctrine of “strict liability.” This means that you merely have to prove that the product had a defect, that you used the product without altering it from its original condition, that you used the product for its intended purpose in the manner in which it was meant to be used, and that because of the defect, you were injured and suffered damages.
Strict liability doesn’t mean proving your case is going to be simple. There is still a lot that goes into it. and the company that you are trying to collect damages from may have much deeper pockets than you do and can be counted on to employ a sophisticated legal team to try to extricate them from the case without their having to pay more than a token amount. You will need an equally sophisticated lawyer who is thoroughly committed to your rights to level the playing field and overcome the company’s (or their insurer’s) resistance to doing the right thing by paying you an adequate amount.
Strict liability is not the only legal theory on which to base a product liability claim. Negligence and breach of warranty are others; but strict liability is the most common and, depending on the details of the situation, often the most successful. Your lawyer will know the best way to approach the case to achieve the most favorable outcome for you.
Seek Legal Help from a Baltimore Defective Product Injury Lawyer
Justice is important, and it is very achievable with the right lawyer at you side—one who has the experience, knowledge, commitment, and work ethic to do everything that needs to be done to win the best possible recovery for you, the client. You will find that help when you call Rice, Murtha & Psoras and schedule a free consultation to learn about your rights and legal options. All work is done on contingency, so you will have no out-of-pocket expenses and will only pay after we’ve won money for you. You have potentially a great deal to gain, so make the call today! (410) 694-7291.