Skilled Long Island Attorneys Understand the Complexities of Products Liability Cases

Safety comes first: get medical care, and if there is fire, smoke, leaking fluid or a damaged battery, leave it to emergency responders and do not handle it. Stop using the product. Once it is safe, keep it as it is: do not throw it away, repair it or send it back. Keep the packaging, manual, labels, receipt and any parts. Photograph the product, the scene and your injuries, and write down how it was being used. Talk to a lawyer before giving a statement to the manufacturer or its insurer.

Usually three years from the injury. If the injury came from exposure to a substance and showed up later, the three years from discovery of the injury, or from when it reasonably should have been discovered, whichever is earlier. That rule is for latent exposure injuries, not discovery of a defect. A death claim is generally due two years after the death, and time can be extended for a child. Because the deadline depends on the theory and the facts, check it early.

New York recognizes three: a manufacturing flaw in the particular unit; a design that makes the product not reasonably safe, judged by weighing its risks against its usefulness when it was made; and missing or inadequate warnings or instructions. One product can have more than one.

The manufacturer, and others in the distribution chain such as component makers, distributors and retailers, if the defect was a substantial factor in causing the injury. A bystander hurt by a defective product can also bring a claim. Which companies are actually liable depends on the facts.

Depending on the case, medical costs, lost earnings and earning capacity, pain and suffering, scarring and loss of enjoyment of life. Family members may have claims after a death. Punitive damages are rare and need proof of especially serious misconduct.

These cases usually need engineering or medical experts, testing of the product, and documents from the manufacturer. The manufacturer will often argue misuse or alteration. A lawyer can preserve the product properly and identify every company in the chain. There is no fee unless there is a recovery.

A recall can be useful evidence, but it does not by itself prove that your unit was defective or that the defect caused your injury. You still have to show the defect and causation. And a product that was never recalled can still be defective. Look up recalls on the CPSC site and report unsafe products on SaferProducts.gov.

With the product itself, expert testing, design and testing documents, similar complaints and evidence of a safer design that was available. Misuse the manufacturer should have foreseen does not automatically defeat the claim. If the specific flaw cannot be found, the claim may proceed if the product did not perform as intended and other causes are ruled out. A later substantial alteration by someone else that caused the injury can defeat a design or manufacturing claim; a warning claim is evaluated separately.

Often yes. The injured person, not only the buyer, can bring the claim, and a bystander can too. With a used product, the question is whether the defect existed when it left the manufacturer or seller, rather than wear, repair or later changes.

Many cases settle, often after the product has been tested and documents exchanged, but each case should be prepared for trial. Timing depends on the experts, the number of companies involved and the court. You decide whether to accept any settlement.