Residents of North Carolina interact with consumer goods countless times throughout the day, from the cars they drive to work to the pharmaceuticals they take to manage medical conditions to the food they serve to their families at dinner. We all have a reasonable expectation that these items will be safe and healthy for us to use. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. However, when that trust proves misplaced, North Carolina law allows us to hold companies that manufacture, distribute, and sell unsafe products liable for the harm they cause.
Have you or a loved one been hurt by an unsafe product in North Carolina? Schwaba Law Firm understands the physical, emotional, and financial toll that a product-related injury can take on your life, and we can help you demand fair compensation for what you’ve suffered.
Andrew Schwaba, a reputable and compassionate North Carolina product liability attorney, can provide the support and legal representation you need during this challenging time. With a focus on personalized attention and tailored legal strategies, Andrew has recovered millions for clients and families throughout North Carolina.
Don’t wait to seek the compensation you deserve. Contact us today for a free, no-obligation consultation with a reputable North Carolina product liability lawyer, and let us make your recovery our priority.
How Our North Carolina Product Liability Lawyers Can Help
Don’t let an unsafe product take away what matters most. Instead, turn to a North Carolina product liability attorney with Schwaba Law for help. A North Carolina product liability law firm can support you and your case by:
- Investigating the product and your injuries to determine whether a defect is to blame
- Identifying the source of the defect, whether it happened during the design process, because of a manufacturing error, or as the result of unclear instructions
- Gathering and analyzing relevant evidence, including documentation and witness testimonies
- Assessing the extent of your injuries and losses and the impact on your life
- Identifying all potentially responsible parties and sources of compensation
- Determining the appropriate legal strategy based on the facts of your case
- Working with experts in fields like medicine, accounting, and industrial design to strengthen your case and calculate the full value of your losses, including medical bills, lost wages, and more
- Filing claims with all responsible parties and negotiating with them and their insurance companies for fair compensation
- Preparing you and your case for trial and presenting your case in court if that becomes the best way to maximize your compensation
- Charging you nothing unless we recover money for you
Clients trust our North Carolina product liability law firm because of our decades of experience, commitment to our clients, and ability to recover maximum compensation. Our product liability wins include the following:
- $150,000 for a client who suffered burn injuries while using a defective gas grill
- $150,000 for a construction defect claim for a client who suffered serious lacerations while installing a sheet of glass
Don’t just trust the numbers. Trust the many clients who give us 5-star ratings for service, including Courtney Dusseau, who praised our professionalism, quality, responsiveness, and value:
“Andrew and team were great to work on. They took on a class-action case that grew in size and complexity…they stayed on top of things and won! They represented us very well and communicated back to us at all major milestones. Highly recommend Andrew and his team!”
What Does Product Liability Mean?
Product liability is an area of law that governs the legal responsibility of manufacturers, distributors, suppliers, and sellers for any damages or injuries caused by their products. Product liability laws aim to protect consumers by holding companies accountable for the safety and quality of their goods. When a product is defective or unreasonably dangerous and it causes harm to a consumer, the law grants injured parties the right to seek compensation through product liability lawsuits.
Product liability cases can involve a wide range of products, including vehicles, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, household appliances, consumer goods, and more. If you or someone close to you got hurt by a dangerous or defective product, it’s important to consult a qualified product liability lawyer in North Carolina to understand your rights.
What Must a Product Liability Claim Include in North Carolina?
Many states follow strict liability in defective product claims. Strict liability in this context means a manufacturer or seller is responsible for any harm their product causes consumers. However, North Carolina does not allow strict liability in defective product claims. Instead, your lawyer will need to prove that you were hurt because the company that designed, manufactured, or sold the product behaved negligently. In other words, it did not take sufficient care to prevent you from being injured while using its product.
Product liability cases typically fall into one or more of the following three categories of negligence, based on the type of defect involved:
- Design Defects: The company cut corners in the product’s design, rendering it inherently unsafe or posing a foreseeable risk of harm to users, even when manufactured and used as intended. Any product made to a defective design will be unsafe to use. An example of a design defect is a television that a competent electrical engineer would recognize as improperly grounded, increasing the risk of fire.
- Manufacturing Defects: The product’s design is sound, but the company made an avoidable error during the production process, making an individual product or a small batch of products dangerous or defective. For example, the company may have used inferior-quality materials rather than those described in the design patent.
- Failure-to-Warn Defects: The company that manufactured or sold the product did not include proper warnings or instructions regarding its use or potential hazards. A common example of failure to warn is a pharmaceutical drug that didn’t list potential side effects or contraindications.
Common Defective Products That Lead to Injury Claims
Any product has the potential to be unsafe. That said, certain ones are particularly common sources of defect claims, including the following:
- Defective Vehicles and Auto Parts: This category includes automobiles, motorcycles, trucks, and other vehicles with faulty designs, manufacturing defects, or inadequate safety features. It also includes defective auto parts such as tires, airbags, seatbelts, brakes, or ignition systems.
- Dangerous Drugs: Pharmaceutical products, including prescription drugs and over-the-counter (OTC) medications, can give rise to product liability claims if they have harmful defects or inadequate warnings about potential risks. Deficient testing, improper labeling, or undisclosed side effects can all contribute to dangerous drug claims.
- Defective Medical Devices: Medical devices, implants, and equipment can be sources of product liability claims if they have defects that cause harm or lack proper warnings. This includes products like faulty pacemakers, hip implants, hernia meshes, and other devices.
- Children’s Products: Products designed for children, including toys, cribs, highchairs, strollers, and car seats, can be subject to product liability claims if they have design flaws, contain hazardous materials, or lack proper warnings.
- Industrial and Construction Equipment: Tools, machinery, power tools, construction equipment, and safety gear used in industrial or construction settings can cause severe injuries if they have defects, inadequate safety measures, or poor instructions.
- Household Chemicals and Cleaning Products: Cleaning agents, pesticides, solvents, and other household chemicals can be hazardous if they lack proper warnings, have inadequate packaging, or are composed of dangerous substances.
Other products that frequently give rise to defect claims include:
- Household appliances and electronics
- Products with lithium-ion batteries, which are prone to fires
- Furniture and other home goods
- Cooking equipment like gas grills and pressure cookers
- Safety equipment like helmets, respirators, and fire extinguishers
Who Is Liable If I Am Injured or Damaged by a Defective Product?
Several parties could be liable for injuries or losses caused by a defective or dangerous product, and identifying these parties is essential for pursuing a successful claim. Your product injury lawyer will seek to identify everyone responsible for the defect, which could include the following:
- Manufacturers: The makers of products and their component parts are typically the primary parties held accountable in product liability cases. This can include companies that design, produce, or assemble defective or dangerous products, such as a company that made a critical error while manufacturing an otherwise safe product or failed to provide instructions necessary to use it safely.
- Distributors: Distributors play a role in getting products from manufacturers to retailers or end consumers. If a defect develops during distribution, such as damage to an otherwise safe product during shipping, or if the distributor is aware of a defect but fails to take appropriate action, they could share liability for any resulting user injuries.
- Retailers or Sellers: A retailer or seller, including an online marketplace, could be liable if it sold a defective product, made unapproved modifications to a product it sold, or failed to provide adequate warnings or instructions to a consumer. Every retailer has a duty to ensure that the products it sells are safe and free from defects.
- Product Designers: Product designers are responsible for exercising reasonable care and skill in creating their designs and considering factors such as safety, functionality, and potential risks. If a design flaw renders a product unreasonably dangerous to consumers, the designer can be held responsible for resulting injuries.
What If a Family Member Dies as a Result of a Defective Product?
If a family member dies as a result of a product defect in North Carolina, you could have grounds for a wrongful death case. In a wrongful death case, surviving beneficiaries seek monetary compensation for the losses they have suffered due to the death of their loved one.
Various types of compensation could be recoverable in a wrongful death case, including money for the following types of losses:
- Final medical expenses related to the deceased’s fatal injury or illness
- Reasonable funeral and burial expenses
- Loss of the deceased’s future earnings and financial contributions
In some cases, if the responsible party’s actions were particularly egregious or showed a willful disregard for the safety of others, the court might order them to pay punitive damages as well. Punitive damages are monetary awards intended to punish wrongdoers and deter similar conduct in the future.
It’s important to note that only the personal representative of the deceased’s estate can file a wrongful death case in North Carolina. In most cases, the personal representative has only three years from the date of death to sue. However, certain exceptions or circumstances could affect this time limit, so it’s important to consult a North Carolina personal injury attorney to understand the specific deadlines and requirements that apply to your situation.
Compensation Available in a Product Liability Case
A defective product lawyer in North Carolina can help you demand fair compensation for what you’ve suffered. If you have been injured or suffered losses due to a product defect, you could be entitled to recover money for various types of losses, potentially including the following:
- Past and future medical care
- Rehabilitation costs
- Wages or salary you lost while you were recovering
- Reduced earning potential if your injuries affect your career
- Property damage costs
- Pain and suffering, or the physical and emotional discomfort your injuries caused you
- Emotional distress for any psychological condition you developed as a trauma response
- Visible scarring or disfigurement
- Reduced quality of life and lost enjoyment of life if you can’t go about your daily life or take part in your favorite activities
- Loss of consortium
How Long Do I Have to File a Defective Product Liability Claim in North Carolina?
Most product liability lawsuits in North Carolina are subject to a three year deadline. However, this rule does not apply to insurance claims, and the specific time limit can vary depending on the circumstances. It’s wise to consult a North Carolina defective product lawyer who can explain the deadlines and requirements that apply to your case.
What You Should Do If a Defective Product Hurts You
If you get hurt or sick due to a defective product, it’s important to take steps to protect your rights and build a strong case. You should:
- Seek immediate medical attention for your injuries or illness.
- Preserve the defective product itself as evidence, along with any packaging or instructions.
- Take photographs or videos of the product, your injuries, and the incident scene.
- Write down a detailed account of the incident, including the date, time, and location.
- Keep records of all medical treatments and any related expenses or losses.
- Identify and gather contact information for any witnesses who saw the incident or defect.
- Consult a North Carolina defective product lawyer to learn more about your legal options.
- Report the incident to the manufacturer and other parties like consumer protection agencies.
- Avoid discussing the incident on social media or with third parties.
- Consider participating in existing or potential class action lawsuits related to the defective item.
Get a Free Case Review from a North Carolina Product Liability Lawyer
You don’t have to face the aftermath of a defective product incident alone. Count on Andrew Schwaba to protect your rights, take the pressure off you, and demand the money you need for your recovery. We are known for our professional, experienced, and aggressive representation and will not rest until we secure full and fair compensation.
Contact us today to get started with a free, no-risk, fully confidential consultation with a product liability attorney in Mooresville, NC.
