Defining The New Haven Personal Injury Case Around Product Liability

January 11, 2023
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There is a wide variety of New Haven personal injury cases that occur throughout the year and one of the less well-known is referred to as product liability.  This type of personal injury claim is actually quite common but it is not as widely known about as a slip and fall accident or a motor vehicle accident as something where there is need for legal representation.  In fact, product liability, can create a large need for representation in the case because it can often be complex.

First, let’s define what product liability is.  Product liability is the set of rules defining who is responsible for an injury that occurs from a defective or damaged product that is purchased either in a store or online.  In the simplest terms, let’s say you’ve purchased a ladder and you get it home and you go to use it, but you step on the top step of the ladder and the step gives way and you fall from high up and injure yourself.  You may need an attorney to help you navigate the situation to where you discover that there is product liability on the part of the company who sold you the ladder and also even potentially liability with the manufacturer who built the ladder to sell in the first place.

In the event that you find yourself having used a defective product that has led to an injury you will want to take a few steps that will help protect you from the damage caused by this defective product.

1.) You will want to seek immediate medical attention.  Getting the injury addressed by a medical professional is the first and most important step so you can begin healing after what was likely a stressful and traumatic event.  This will also allow you to document your injury in case you will be seeking legal action against the company who sold you the defective product or the manufacturer.

2.) Keep the defective product and do not try to fix it on your own.  This is an important point.  You may receive a defective product, get injured while using it and then think you can fix the problem so you can actually use the product for it’s intended purpose.  Do not do this.  Keep the product as it was when it caused the injury and preserve it in its present form.

3.) Document the circumstances surrounding the defective product and your injury.  If you are able, take pictures of what happened and how it happened.  If there were people there who witnessed the incident make sure you speak with them and hear what they saw when it happened.  With cameras on our phones these days it can be much easier to actually document everything that happened.

If you take these three steps in a product liability case you may be able to file a New Haven personal injury case so you can seek damages for your injuries caused by the defective product.  As mentioned above, these cases are often quite complex, but if you make sure to be diligent about documenting the who, what, where, how and when of the situation it will make your situation much less complex.

When an injury occurs it is definitely more complex to go it alone so you may want to enlist the help of an experienced personal injury attorney who has seen cases similar to your situation in the last.  Contact our office and one of our experienced attorneys will review your case and work with you to protect your long-term interests.