Charleston Defective Product Lawyer
Employers often take shortcuts regarding worker safety. These shortcuts put employee health unnecessarily at risk. Somewhat similarly, many product makers take shortcuts during the manufacturing process. These shortcuts put consumers’ health and safety at risk. Furthermore, many companies fail to warn consumers about elevated risks. Others suppress negative information, so the bad publicity does not decrease sales.
At the Gus Anastopoulo Law Firm, our diligent Charleston defective product lawyers quickly evaluate your claim and ascertain your legal rights. Then, we collect evidence which builds a strong damages claim and is strong enough to refute some common defenses in these matters. Finally, since we have such a firm foundation in place, we never settle for anything less than the best possible results under the circumstances.
Kinds of Dangerous Products
Inertia is a principle of physics which also applies in other areas of life. Sir Isaac Newton concluded that bodies at rest tend to stay at rest, and bodies in motion tend to remain in motion. In the manufacturing realm, once the wheels start turning in a certain direction, they are not easy to stop or redirect. Some companies use inertia as a defense against defective product claims, but as outlined below, this excuse does not hold up in court.
The resulting dangerous products seriously injure large numbers of people. Metal-on-Metal hip implants illustrate the two major types of product defects:
- Manufacturing Defect: To save money, some manufacturers use cheap, imported parts from China and elsewhere. These components often have very high levels of mercury, lead, and other dangerous heavy metals. These substances could cause a number of serious injuries, such as brain damage.
- Design Defect: Most MoM implants were defectively designed. The artificial hip, which is basically a ball-and-socket joint, is made from all-metal parts. Over time, the microscopic metal fragments released with each step the person takes build up inside the body and cause metallosis, or metal poisoning.
Sometimes, our legal team bases a damage claim on one of these defects. More commonly, our Charleston defective products lawyers use a failure to warn theory. Manufacturers have a duty to warn consumers about possible drug side-effects and product dangers. Companies breach this duty if they ignore this responsibility.
Compensation in a defective products claim usually includes money for economic losses, such as medical bills, and noneconomic losses, such as pain and suffering. Furthermore, many of these victim/plaintiffs are entitled to additional punitive damages. These damages, which usually exceed the amount of compensatory losses, punish careless companies and deter future wrongdoing.
Liability Issues
Usually, manufacturers are strictly liable for the injuries their dangerous products cause. Negligence or recklessness is usually important in terms of damages, because of the aforementioned punitive damages. But for liability purposes, victim/plaintiffs need only prove cause.
Our Charleston defective products lawyers often partner with engineers and other expert witnesses on this point.
The unforeseeable misuse doctrine is about the only possible defense in these claims. Violently shaking a vending machine is an example of a foreseeable misuse. Labels usually warn customers not to act in this way. Almost inevitably, however, someone will shake the vending machine and suffer injury. Since the misuse is foreseeable, the company is probably liable for damages.
Contact a Diligent Charleston County Defective Product Lawyer
Injury victims are entitled to fair compensation for their serious injuries. For a free consultation with an experienced Charleston defective products lawyer, contact the Gus Anastopoulo Law Firm. Attorneys can connect victims with doctors, even if they have no money or insurance.
