Despite using a product correctly and responsibly, you sustained injuries due to a defect or a risk factor you were unaware of. Now you’re left with medical bills and other such losses because another party was careless. Depending on the severity of your injuries, you may even struggle with long-term diminished quality of life and significant medical expenses. Understanding your legal options in these circumstances is vital in these painful and frustrating circumstances.
Injury victims may be entitled to recover fair compensation if you sustained injuries because of another party’s carelessness or error. At Bartholomew, Shevlin & Flack, LLP, a product liability lawyer in St. Clair County, Illinois, can review your case and explain potential options in greater detail. Call us today for a free consultation.
Product liability cases may take a variety of forms, which include:
Speak with our Belleville, Illinois, product liability attorney if you’re not sure whether you have a valid case. We can help determine if you have grounds to file a product liability claim.
If you’ve sustained serious injuries using a dangerous or defective product, seek medical attention right away. Save the product as well. Seeing a doctor immediately after an accident and preserving the item that caused harm are two early steps you may take to improve your odds of receiving a settlement.
Determining who is liable is among the first essential steps to take in a product liability case. That’s because pursuing compensation involves filing a claim with the liable party or their insurance company.
Parties that could be at fault in product liability cases can include:
Sometimes, these personal injury claims involve joint liability. Determining liability in complex scenarios will require investigating the case in greater detail. This is one of many tasks a qualified St. Clair County product injury lawyer can handle on your behalf.
Illinois dangerous and defective product claims are typically divided into these three legal theories:
The liable party is responsible for ensuring consumer safety in the development and/or sale of their products. Our product liability lawyers can assist you in proving and filing the appropriate claim.
Some types of consumer products are more frequently the cause of accident or injury than others.
They include:
These types of products may be mentioned in product liability claims with higher-than-average frequency not because they’re more dangerous than others but because of the harm they can cause when they’re defective. For example, a defective car part may be more likely to cause harm than a defective pen.
However, virtually any type of product could theoretically cause injuries if it’s defective or otherwise dangerous when used as intended. Don’t worry if your case doesn’t involve any of the above types of products. At our Illinois law firm, a product liability attorney can explain whether you should file a product liability claim based on the details of your case.
No one can guarantee that you will receive a specific sum of money from a product liability case settlement or trial. However, an attorney familiar with product liability laws could help you better understand how much compensation you might be entitled to.
Losses with specific and absolute dollar values are economic losses. Examples include medical bills and lost wages. They may also include future losses, such as the cost of ongoing medical treatment.
Non-economic damages are intangible and don’t have a specific monetary value. Your pain after sustaining injuries is an example of a non-economic loss. Legal professionals sometimes use specialized formulas to determine the “value” of these types of losses.
In some circumstances, injured parties may also receive money that doesn’t compensate them for their losses. This may occur if a case goes to trial and a jury awards punitive damages.
Under Illinois law, juries can award punitive damages when it’s shown the “defendant’s conduct was with evil motive or with a reckless and outrageous indifference to a highly unreasonable risk of harm and with a conscious indifference to the rights and safety of others.” Unlike compensation, punitive damages serve to punish defendants for wrongdoing. Punishing a defendant in this way is intended to discourage them from engaging in similar wrongdoing going forward.
The ways a Southern Illinois product liability law firm can help include:
Insurance companies are businesses, and their profits are their main concern. Because an insurance adjuster is likely to try lowballing any settlement offer they make, having a lawyer to negotiate on your behalf simplifies the claims process.
Yes. Contrary to what you might expect, hiring a lawyer to represent you in a product liability case involves virtually no financial risk on your part.
Our Illinois product liability attorney enters into contingency fee agreements with new clients. When a client signs a contingency fee agreement, they do not pay any legal fees upfront.
A contingency fee agreement establishes that the lawyer’s fee will be a percentage of the compensation they secure for their client. In other words, we only get paid if you get paid.
Such an arrangement ensures you can hire a lawyer without worrying about adding to your bills. It also incentivizes your lawyer to fight for the most compensation they believe you’re owed. The more you receive in a settlement or damages award, the more we receive in fees.
Under Illinois law, you have two years to file a defective products personal injury lawsuits. You’ll be unable to pursue compensation through the court system if you fail to meet this deadline. Avoid this by getting an attorney started on your case now.
The future may seem uncertain if an unexpected accident involving a defective or dangerous product has left you with injuries. Fortunately, you may be able to secure compensation for your losses. Proper legal representation could play a significant role in your case’s outcome.
Discuss your case with an Illinois product liability lawyer at Bartholomew, Shevlin & Flack, LLP. Our Illinois product liability law firm is on hand to offer legal advice and dedicated service when you need it most. Learn more about what we can do for you by contacting us online or calling us today for a free consultation.