Chicago Product Liability Attorney

As a consumer in Cook County, you expect that the Chicago area products you buy will not be unreasonably dangerous. When you suffer serious injuries, you can file a personal injury lawsuit. You may be entitled to recover compensation for the harm that you have suffered.

At Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers, LLC, our Chicago, IL personal injury attorneys help injured victims harmed through negligence receive the financial compensation they deserve.

Call our liability law firm at (888) 424-5757 (toll-free phone call) or use the contact form on our website today to schedule a free consultation.

How We Can Assist with Your Liability Claim

The attorneys at the Illinois law firm of Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC can help you file your case for consumer products and other dangerous items you have bought.

When you contact an experienced attorney to schedule a free consultation, you will learn more about how personal injury law allows you to recover financial compensation for your injuries.

Liability Law and Your Case

The basics of liability law are that manufacturers and sellers cannot place goods into the "stream of commerce" that are dangerous.

These products have more risks for consumers than what an ordinary consumer would anticipate. Liability law specifies that several types of defects could make manufacturers and sellers liable for your injuries.

The Different Types of Defective Products Cases

To fully understand what a products liability claim means, it is helpful to understand a few examples of these cases in different contexts:

The Design Defects

Any product with a flawed design creates an unsafe or dangerous scenario. Unfortunately, many design flaws are not identified until after the product is sold and harm individuals.

Under strict liability laws, all parties harmed by a defective product caused by a design defect can seek financial compensation.

Manufacturing Defects

Many consumers purchase products without knowing the manufacturing defect's hazards in the product's design or fabrication. Under liability law, the injured parties can file claims by suing the manufacturer or distributor for any defective product.

A liability lawsuit might involve defective vehicle parts, children's toys, consumer goods, household appliances, prescription medication, medical devices, or tools.

Today, hundreds of thousands of liability claims have been filed against manufacturers over decades. As a result, the designer, manufacturer, distributor, and reseller can be held legally responsible for selling a defective product for their failure to protect consumers.

Marketing Defects

A safe product might have been labeled improperly or does not contain sufficient safety warnings or instructions or adequately describe any dangers. Failing to protect the public by improperly labeling a relatively safe product could cause catastrophic results if the product is not used as intended.

The seller could be held legally liable when a consumer purchases a product that turns out to be defective, even if they were not involved in the design or manufacturing process. Liability laws also involve an implied promise of the product that led to an unreasonable danger when used as intended.

An experienced lawyer can ensure that the injured party receives financial compensation for any product with a design or manufacturing defect that led to their damages. Call our product liability attorneys for a free case evaluation to discuss a product liability claim involving a dangerous product.

Defective Products that We Use Every Day

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) uses the law to reduce the risk of potential serious injury or death caused by dangerous products. The commission develops the industry's voluntary standards and issues and enforces mandatory regulations.

When a product is identified as defective, the agency bans the consumer product to protect the public: the commission posts online many statistics and technical reports categorized by different products used by American consumers.

Liability cases touch many areas of our lives today. Practically everything that you use can break and harm you. When that happens, you are entitled to damages for all the harm you have suffered.

Below are many ways that products touch your everyday life as a consumer:

• Food poisoning: The news is filled with reports of people who have been injured by salmonella and e-Coli. This harm can be the basis for a claim against the restaurant or food seller because there are defects in the food.
• Defective Toys: Injure many people every year. Sometimes, they have small parts that children can choke on and swallow. Other times, the paint on these toys can be toxic.
• Medical Devices and Drugs: This is one of the more common types of lawsuits today. The medical device, hernia mesh, or the drug Zantac have been the subject of liability cases where plaintiffs have claimed that they are defective. Chicago, IL attorneys have received numerous calls from injured consumers seeking help with a wrong medication or defective medical device.
• Below are more well-known recent products with a manufacturing defect resolved through a class-action lawsuit:
• Roundup Weedkiller: This weed killer manufacturer was involved in one of the most significant liability claims in recent years. Plaintiffs claimed that the active ingredient in Roundup, glyphosate, was an active carcinogen (look here for more discussion on Roundup lawsuit settlement). After several substantial jury verdicts involving the dangerous product that included tens of millions of dollars in punitive damages, Bayer sought to reach a multi-billion dollar settlement with the plaintiffs. We are also prosecuting Paraquat lawsuits involving Parkinson's Disease.
• Fen-Phen Diet Pills: One of the most significant defective drug lawsuits where thousands were killed or sustained life-threatening injuries by a defective drug. The supposedly revolutionary diet pill caused heart attacks and other heart valve damage that killed scores of people—the manufacturer's failure to protect consumers resulted in a nearly $5 billion settlement.
• Asbestos: In one of the most expensive and longest-running liability suits of all time, plaintiffs have been filing cases against practically every company associated with this naturally occurring dangerous product that causes mesothelioma. The legal liability has bankrupted large corporations as the number of settlements and verdicts has reached the tens of billions.
• Ford Pinto: In one of the first mass tort injury cases, plaintiffs sustained life-threatening injuries when the gas tank placement caused these motor vehicles to explode upon impact in certain collisions. Ford was deemed liable for the design defect and was held liable for the marketing defect for selling the car after many had been harmed or killed by the dangerous product.

When You Can Sue a Manufacturer for a Dangerous or Defective Product

Laws dictate how strict liability cases are handled in federal and state courts, holding the product manufacturer and designer accountable through a negligence claim.

Typically, these cases are resolved when the victim's trial attorneys prove the defendant's negligence in creating or manufacturing dangerous products or showing a product's distribution chain that harms consumers.

Did you suffer injuries sustained from a product you purchased? Did you use it as intended, following the implied warranty for safety, but still suffered harm?

You likely have the legal right to file a civil lawsuit against the manufacturer and all entities responsible for designing, manufacturing, and distributing a product with manufacturing defects.

Similarly, if your loved one was killed due to a dangerous product, you may be able to pursue a wrongful death claim against the manufacturer.

Buying the product creates a legal relationship between you and everyone involved in the commerce stream that entitles you to a safe product that will not injure you.

Liability Legal Theories of Recovery

There are two possible ways to recover in your Chicago, IL case. First, the way that you are entitled to compensation is strict liability.

Here, it does not matter whether the manufacturer exercised due care in making the product.

All you need to show is the following:

• You bought the product
• You used it in a foreseeable way
• The product is in substantially the same condition it was in when it was sold
• You suffered harm

Your attorney must prove that the product was defective to ensure you receive financial compensation for your injuries.

The Negligence Theory of a Product Liability Claim

Even if you cannot show that the manufacturer should be strictly liable for your injuries, the law still allows you to recover. Here, you need to show that you were injured by the manufacturers' or sellers' negligence.

Just like any other negligence case, you would need to prove the following:

• The manufacturer (defendant) owed you the duty of care, such as when you are buying a product from the seller or maker
• The manufacturer breached the duty of care by acting unreasonably
• The dangerous product injured you
• You would not have been injured, but for the actions of the defendant

Our firm can help you prove that the defendant acted unreasonably.

The manufacturer and their lawyer will always try to show that their product was safe, or at least that it was not dangerous. Your attorney can help you put forth the evidence to back your claim that the product was not safe for its intended use.

Damages in a Products Liability Lawsuit

Here are some of the categories of damages for which you can seek compensation in a liability lawsuit:

• Lost wages for the time you have missed from work and would miss in the future; you can also be paid for the reduction in your earning capacity due to your injuries
• Medical expenses for your doctors' treatment must be paid by you, including your ongoing medical expenses that likely include future medical bills and the cost of nursing care to treat your injuries
• Pain and suffering (in Illinois, there are no caps on pain and suffering)
• Emotional distress
• Disfigurement
• Loss of enjoyment of life
• Punitive damages if the defendant's conduct was egregious

Your Product Liability Case Can Be Heavily Scientific

Proving product liability cases is not always easy. Dangerous conditions may require scientific evidence and expert testimony to show the court that the defects were genuine and that the product caused your injuries.

Your case could take a long time to prosecute, and you can expect motions from both sides. Product liability lawsuits are hard-fought because the defendant has substantial monetary stakes. Even the future of the company itself can be at stake.

Hire Attorneys to Resolve your Liability Claim

You need an attorney on your side to handle your product liability case from start to finish, working with the experts to help prove your claims.

You must prove your entitlement to receive financial compensation:

• The product that you bought was defective
• That product injured you
• You did not use the product in an unintended manner
• Your injuries are provable

The product liability lawsuit process begins when you call an attorney in our Chicago, IL law firm to schedule your free consultation.

Your attorney will sit down with you and ask a series of questions about your case. The Chicago product liability lawyers at our firm will take the time to learn all the facts of what happened before letting you know whether the law would support compensation and discuss your rights and legal options.

Then, your product liability attorney will begin your case by filing a complaint with the court that lays out the facts and why the manufacturer or seller should be made to pay for your harm.

Before your product liability trial begins, your case will have a phase of discovery where the two parties will exchange documents and take depositions. The evidence and testimony through this entire process will help our firm build your case even further.

Finally, your legal case will go to trial or ask to resolve the case through a negotiated settlement. Here, your Chicago product liability lawyer will call witnesses and present the evidence. 

The jury will decide whether the defendant has a legal liability to pay for your injuries and lost income usually paid by the defendant's insurance company.

Contact Our Chicago Product Liability Lawyers

Did a defective product injure you or lose a family member through another's negligence? Call our law firm today at (888) 424-5757 (toll-free phone number) or use the contact form to schedule a free consultation to discuss your legal options and explain the entire process for your product liability case.

At Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers, LLC, our product liability lawyers handle strict product liability claims for our clients who suffered severe consequences caused by defective products. We hold the product maker liable for the manufacturer's negligence due to their failure to warn consumers of their product defects.

Family members who lost a loved one through a product defect, product recalls, medical malpractice, or dangerous drugs can file a wrongful death lawsuit. Your compensation should be sufficient to pay all outstanding medical bills, hospitalization costs, funeral & burial expenses, funds for your grief, loss of companionship, financial support, and mental anguish.

We offer every client a "No Win/No-Fee" Guarantee in all injury practice areas. This guarantee ensures that you will owe us nothing if we cannot obtain compensation on your behalf. Contact us for a free consultation.

Resources:

• Consumer Product Safety Commission – Recalled Products
• GAO Consumer Safety Defective Products