When you use a product, you expect that can do so safely. You trust that the product was designed properly and manufactured with care. You’d hope that a company would disclose or warn any dangers that could potentially cause you harm. Unfortunately, defective products cause injuries every day.
When this happens, you may have the right to file a personal injury lawsuit against the company that designed, manufactured, or sold the defective product. The money you receive can help to cover medical costs, make up for lost wages, and compensate for the pain and suffering you’ve experienced.
Have you or someone you love been injured because of a dangerous or defective product in Miami? Contact Lavent Law, P.A. to schedule a free consultation and learn about your legal options. Our Miami product liability lawyers will review your case and answer any questions you have.
How Our Miami Product Liability Lawyers Can Help
The costs of an unexpected injury can be overwhelming. Fortunately, you can file a lawsuit against a company that allowed a defective or dangerous product to get into your hands. While you can pursue compensation on your own, you run the risk of not recovering the financial award you deserve. Product liability lawsuits can be challenging and are best handled by an experienced attorney.
Here’s what you can expect when you hire Lavent Law, P.A. to handle your product liability lawsuit. We will:
- Carefully investigate your case to determine cause and liability;
- Work with experts to determine the precise value of your case;
- Protect you from insurance companies that are only interested in driving down the value of your case;
- Limit a company’s efforts to prove that you share fault for the acciden; and
- Do everything in our power to maximize your financial settlement or award.
You don’t have to fight for compensation on your own. Hiring an attorney will put you in the best position to make the most of your personal injury case. Contact our Miami product liability lawyers today to learn more.
Understanding Product Liability Laws in Florida
In Florida, companies have an obligation to make sure that the products they put on the market are safe. Any dangers posed by a product must be disclosed. When a company fails to protect its customers, it can be held strictly liable for injuries caused by its products. Strict liability means that you don’t have to prove that the company was negligent in any way. Instead, you simply have to show that a product was unreasonably safe because of the way it was designed, manufactured, or labeled.
Grounds for a Product Liability Lawsuit
There are three primary grounds for filing a product liability lawsuit in Miami: defective design, manufacturing defect, and failure to warn.
Defective Design: Defective design means that a product is dangerous because of the way it was designed. The product will be dangerous even if it is carefully manufactured according to its blueprint. A design defect will exist if the product is unreasonably dangerous even when it is used as intended. For example, a design defect can exist when there’s a math error in important calculations.
Manufacturing Defect: A manufacturing defect exists when a product is not built to its design specifications. In other words, there’s an issue in the manufacturing process. For example, a manufacturing defect can exist if a product is built using the wrong materials.
Failure to Warn: Companies must warn consumers of any dangers or risks that may be associated with foreseeable use of a product. This is why you tend to see so many warning labels on the things you buy. A company’s failure to provide warnings can make an otherwise-safe product unreasonably dangerous. For example, a company could be liable for failing to warn a consumer that a child’s toy contains small objects or sharp edges.
What Do I Have to Prove When I File a Product Liability Lawsuit?
When you’re injured because of a defective product, you have the option of filing a lawsuit against the company behind that product. Your lawsuit can either be based on negligence or product liability. In a negligence lawsuit, you’ll have to prove that the company owed you a duty of care, breached that duty, and caused you harm. It can be difficult to recover compensation if you can’t identify or prove how the company was negligent. On the other hand, you don’t have to prove that a company was negligent when you file a product liability lawsuit. Instead, you’ll have to prove:
- You suffered an injury
- Because of a design defect, manufacturing defect, or the company’s failure to warn
- The dangerous product was the proximate cause of your injury; and
- You used the product as intended or in a reasonably foreseeable way.
Injury: Any harm that you suffer because of a defective product can be an injury. This includes physical and emotional injuries, as well as financial harm.
Dangerous Product: You must prove that the product you used was dangerous because of a defective design, manufacturing defect, or failure to warn.
Proximate Cause: The defective product must have been a proximate cause of your injury. Proximate cause means that your use of the defective product was significantly related to your injury. In other words, you wouldn’t have suffered the injury if the product hadn’t been defective.
Used as Intended: Products are intended to be used in very specific ways. Not using a product as its intended can be incredibly dangerous. You’ll have to prove that you were injured by the product when you were either (a) using it as intended or (b) using it in a way that was reasonably foreseeable.
Product Liability Matters We Handle
Any product has the potential to be dangerous. Companies that don’t carefully design, test, and manufacture their products can put consumers at serious risk of injury. At Lavent Law, P.A., our Miami attorneys are prepared to help you file a product liability lawsuit if you’ve been injured because of a defective product. We handle all defective product cases, including those involving:
- Dangerous toys
- Defective medical devices
- Dangerous pharmaceutical drugs
- Vehicles
- Defective airbags
- Household appliances
- Tools and heavy equipment
- Food and beverages, and more.
Contact our office to schedule a free consultation. We’re here to help you fight for the money you need and deserve after you suffer an unexpected injury.
Damages Available to Victims of Defective Products
You have the right to expect that the products you use are safe. When a company puts a dangerous product out on the market, you have the right to hold it financially responsible for your injuries. At Lavent Law, P.A., our attorneys will fight to get you the money you deserve. We’ll demand compensation to cover:
- Medical expenses
- Lost wages
- Disability
- Disfigurement
- Property damage
- Embarrassment
- Pain and suffering
- Anxiety and depression
- Loss of enjoyment of life, and more.
It’s our goal to help you get through this difficult time in your life. Call us for immediate assistance with your product liability lawsuit today.
Statute of Limitations for Product Liability Lawsuits in Miami
Florida law limits the amount of time you have to file a lawsuit after you’ve been injured by a defective product. In most cases, you must file your claim within four years of your accident. You can be prohibited from getting the money you deserve if you don’t file your claim before the statute of limitations expires.
You might have additional time to file your product liability lawsuit if you didn’t notice or discover your injury right away. In these situations, the statute of limitations can be tolled to give you additional time. However, Florida law prohibits product liability lawsuits filed later than 12 years after the product was delivered to its first owner. If you’ve been injured by a hand-me-down or used product, you may not have the ability to sue the product’s company.
Call Our Miami Product Liability Attorneys
Are you struggling with an injury that was caused by a defective product? Contact an experienced personal injury lawyer in Miami for immediate legal assistance. You may have the right to demand compensation, and our experienced attorneys can help. Money won’t guarantee a full or speedy recovery, but it can help to make this difficult time in your life a bit easier. Contact our office to schedule a free consultation. We’ll review your case and help you understand your rights. Call today to learn more.