Hilton Head Product Liability Lawyer
When people think of accidents that are likely to lead to personal injuries, they typically think of car accidents and slip-and-falls. However, defective products oftentimes cause personal injuries as well. When a defective product causes personal injuries, the product manufacturer or designer may be liable.
If you have sustained personal injuries as a result of a defective product, an experienced Hilton Head personal injury lawyer can help. A product liability lawyer in Hilton Head has the necessary legal skills to take on the insurance company and fight for your legal right to monetary compensation.
Statute of Limitations
As with other types of personal injury cases, the statute of limitations in a products liability case is normally three years from the date of injury. If a claim or lawsuit is not filed within this three-year time period, the injured plaintiff is forever barred from filing suit or seeking monetary recovery for their injuries.
The reason for this hard-and-fast statute of limitations deadline is to prevent evidence from growing stale, to keep memories and records ‘fresh’ in people’s minds, and to prevent the possibility of witnesses moving away or possibly dying or becoming incapacitated while the lawsuit is pending.
Theories of Liability
With the exception of a breach of warranty theory of recovery, the two main theories of recovery in personal injury cases involving defective products are strict liability and negligence.
In order to prove strict liability, the injured plaintiff must prove all three of the following elements:
- That the plaintiff was injured by the defective product
- That the reason why the plaintiff was injured is because the product was, in fact, defective, and because it was unreasonably dangerous to the user
- That at the time of the accident, the product was in essentially the same condition as it was when it left the hands of the defendant (usually the product manufacturer, designer, or distributor)
In a negligence action, in addition to proving all three of the elements above, the injured plaintiff must also prove that the defendant manufacturer, designer, or seller failed to exercise reasonable care in properly manufacturing or designing the product – or failed to properly warn of any product defects.
In all cases, the injured plaintiff must prove that the product defect was a factual and legal cause of the plaintiff’s injuries and damages. This can help be proven using a product liability attorney in Hilton Head.
Potential Damages
In personal injury cases involving defective products, an injured plaintiff may be entitled to some or all of the following types of damages:
- Payment of all related medical bills and expenses
- Lost wages
- Pain and suffering
- Mental anguish
- Emotional distress
- Loss of consortium/companionship
- Loss of earning capacity
- Payment of related psychological/psychiatric treatment and bills
An individual can seek damages in each of these categories with the help of a Hilton Head product liability lawyer.
Contact an Attorney
If you have sustained personal injuries as a result of a defective product, an experienced Hilton Head product liability lawyers can help.
A knowledgeable product liability attorney in Hilton Head can negotiate with the insurance company on your behalf, and, if necessary, file a lawsuit in order to help you obtain the maximum monetary value for your personal injury case.