Los Angeles Product Liability Lawyer

If you or your loved one were the victim of a defective product, you need a skilled, compassionate attorney fighting for your legal rights. At Ellis Law, our product liability attorneys strive to ensure you get the compensation you need for your injuries and protect you from insurance company tactics used to lessen, deny, or shift the blame for your accident.

Ellis Law’s product liability attorneys are:

• Experienced negotiators and trial practitioners. The first thing we will do is determine what your goals are. Are you hoping for a trial or a settlement? Once we know what you’re looking for, we will advise you on the best strategy. If we think there is a settlement that can be negotiated and your chances at trial are slim, we will do everything we can to make this happen. We’re always prepared to go to trial, though.
• Educated and up-to-date on product liability laws and claims. Our lawyers are always learning and reviewing local and federal laws to ensure that they can represent you to the best of their ability. 
• Dedicated to pursuing fair and just compensation for victims of product liability accidents. Defective products often cause severe injuries, which can have lifelong consequences. There might be significant medical expenses and high costs for future treatment and rehabilitation. We will do everything we can to obtain the most compensation available for you and your family.

Choosing the right product liability attorney for your case is an essential first step towards recovery. Contact Ellis Law today and schedule your risk-free claim consultation with a product liability attorney.

How a Los Angeles Product Liability Attorney Can Help

Product liability cases are some of the most complex and time-consuming personal injury cases. The companies that place defective products into the hands of consumers will fiercely defend their reputation and profits. It is crucial you have a seasoned product liability attorney on your side to persevere against these corporations and their attorneys.

At Ellis Law, our product liability attorneys are persistent and aggressive when building and pursuing your legal claim. We do the following and more on your behalf:

• Obtain witness statements about your injury;
• Collect any evidence related to the accident;
• Analyze your medical records;
• Assess the full extent and costs of your injuries and accident-related losses;
• Compile evidence from recall notices such as the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) or the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), as well as any existing independent studies;
• File a civil lawsuit to demand compensation;
• Negotiate a full settlement; or
• Pursue a trial verdict.

Ellis Law will stand beside you throughout your claim, update you with any status changes, and respond promptly to your calls, texts, and emails. Our attorneys care as much about your case as you do, and we are always here for you. Call our Los Angeles office now to discuss your product liability case and have your questions answered by a knowledgeable attorney.

What is a Product Liability Claim?

Product liability is an area of personal injury law. A product liability claim arises from a consumer injury caused by a defective or inherently dangerous product. The victim of a product liability accident does not need to be the one who purchased the product to have a claim, only the one injured by the product.

Consumers expect manufacturers, designers, and distributors to provide them with products that are safe for their intended use. When these parties fail to do so, California law ensures that injured consumers can recover monetary compensation for any resulting injuries.

There are three types of defective and hazardous product claims. These include manufacturing defects, design defects, and failure to warn.

• Manufacturing defects. A defect occurs during the process of creating the product making the product dangerous. Manufacturing defects are a problem with the product when it was actually being made. There’s no issue with the design; if all of the products were made properly and in adherence with the design, they wouldn’t be dangerous. However, something occurs during manufacturing that causes some or all of the products to become dangerous.
• Design defects. The design of the product itself causes an unreasonable risk of harm. Before a product is manufactured, it goes through a design process. When the design itself is flawed, this means that even if the product is created perfectly each time based off of the design, all of the products will end up being defective because of the design defect. The products are made how they were intended to be made, but something was wrong with the design.  
• Failure to warn. The retailer or distributor fails to provide adequate instruction on how to use a product.  Marketing defects typically have to do with a failure to warn consumers of certain risks about the product. While companies and manufacturers aren’t required to warn consumers of every single risk associated with the product, they are required to disclose any foreseeable dangers that could arise from normal use of the product if those risks aren’t obvious. 

You Can Bring a Lawsuit Against Multiple Different Parties

In a product liability case, it might not be immediately clear to you who is responsible for your injuries and who you may be able to recover compensation from. Was the product manufactured properly, but there was a mistake in the design? Did the business or manufacturer fail to warn consumers about certain risks? You may not know the answer to these questions right away. If you find that you’ve been injured as a result of a defective product, it’s always in your best interest to contact a lawyer right away. They can assist you in determining who can be held responsible. This could be a manufacturer, testing lab, distributor, supplier, sales representative, retailer, or a hospital or doctor. This list isn’t exhaustive, but it gives you a good idea of who can be held responsible in a product liability case. 

Common Consumer Products in Product Liability Claims

Consumers are injured by defective and dangerous products every day in their homes, at work, or traveling in their vehicles. Some common consumer products involved in product liability claims are the following:

• Vehicle airbags;
• Children’s car seats;
• Power tools;
• Gas grills;
• Space heaters;
• Carbon monoxide detectors;
• Medical devices and implants;
• Prescription drugs;
• Health supplements; and
• Over-the-counter medicines.

What To Do If You Were Injured By a Defective Product

If you’ve been injured by a defective product, there are several important steps you should consider taking right away, as well as a few things you should avoid.

• Seek Medical Care if Necessary. If you were seriously injured by a defective product, one of the first things – or in some cases, the first thing – you should do is seek medical care. Before you can think of filing lawsuits or try to determine who is responsible for your injuries, you should make sure you’re safe and healthy enough to handle the next steps. Additionally, medical records are always important in these types of cases, as it will provide evidence of what injuries you sustained, the treatment that was necessary, and what issues and rehabilitation will be necessary in the future. Will there be long-term effects from the injuries, and how will that affect your life in the future? 
• Gather Evidence. While it’s understandable that your first thought after being seriously injured by a defective product isn’t lawsuits and who is responsible for your injuries, this is something you’ll want to consider as soon as you are able. Once you start working on your claim, obtaining the proper evidence will be crucial for your case. Take photos, keep the broken product, take notes about how you’re feeling or any specific injuries such as bone fractures, and prepare documents and evidence showing everything that will have an impact on your claim. Don’t do anything with the product that caused your injuries other than store it somewhere safe. You don’t want it to look as though it was tampered with because that will affect your chances of recovering the compensation you deserve. 
• Don’t Post Online About Your Case. In the age of social media, it seems that everyone wants to share everything with the world the minute it happens. While there’s typically nothing inherently wrong with this, it’s a bad idea to post anything online or discuss anything at all about a lawsuit or legal issues you might be going through. If you say something publicly that contradicts your claim in a deposition or in court, it could be used against you during negotiations or at trial. You can be certain that the opposing counsel will scour your social media pages, looking for ways to discredit you. This includes photos, as well. If you’re in the middle of a claim where you’re trying to recover compensation for serious injuries, the last thing you want to do is post a photo of yourself looking healthy and happy. This isn’t to say that you should intentionally try to deceive anyone about how bad your injuries are. It’s just important not to provide anything that opposing counsel can use against you. Make them work hard to win their case.  
• Contact an Attorney. Finally, one of the most important steps you can take is to contact an experienced attorney. They can assist you every step of the way. They can help you gather evidence, initiate the lawsuit, and keep you up to date on what’s going on with your case. 

Statute of Limitations

In California, you typically must file a product liability claim within two years of the date of your injuries. While this might sound like a long time, the time passes quickly, and the longer you wait, the more difficult it can be to prove your case. Any lawyer you hire is going to want to investigate your case, speak with witnesses, and take a lot of steps to obtain evidence for your case. Some lawyers will do some preliminary investigating before agreeing to take and initiate your claim. This means if you wait and then go speak with a lawyer right before the two-year mark is up, it could make it much more difficult to find witnesses and evidence in order to back up your claim. Memories fade away, and witnesses sometimes move, leaving you without crucial evidence. 

Proving Product Liability in Court

Proving a product liability lawsuit can be quite difficult, but our experienced attorneys know what they need to prove to be successful. There are two primary legal theories related to product liability claims: negligence and strict liability. If your lawsuit is based on negligence, you must prove that the defendant breached its duty of care to consumers and this negligence was the cause of your injuries. 

In contrast, when you’re bringing a product liability claim under strict liability, you don’t have to show that anyone was negligent. Strict liability holds the defendant liable for your injuries regardless of fault. In order to prevail under strict liability, you typically must prove that the product had one of the following problems: inherent design flaws, manufacturing errors, or marketing defects. It’s not enough that a manufacturer or company places a warning on the label. If there was a flaw in the design or manufacturing of the product, such as a defective airbag in the event of a car accident, they can still be held liable for your injuries.

Contact an Experienced Los Angeles Product Liability Attorney

These are only a few of the many defective products on the market today. If a defective or dangerous product injured you or your family member, contact a product liability attorney at Ellis Law. Our experienced Los Angeles personal injury attorneys can advise you of ongoing litigation regarding the product that harmed you and of any compensation potentially due for your claim.

There is a time period within which a lawsuit for a defective product must be filed. To meet this deadline, call Ellis Law as soon as possible. We have the knowledge and resources necessary to get you the compensation and justice you deserve for your injuries and other losses.