A representative from Silberstein, Awad, and Miklos Personal Injury Attorneys shared insights on defective product lawsuits and their impact for New Yorkers 2023 approaches. Product injury law suits make up around 10% of all personal injury lawsuits.
Every year thousands of New York residents are injured or die due to faulty and defective products. These can include commonly thought of items, like tools and machinery, but also pharmaceuticals, food, children's products, and more. Consumers generally trust that the products they purchase will be safe and function as expected, but sometimes there are inherent design flaws or mistakes in manufacturing that can turn otherwise fine products figuratively into hidden land mines. As 2022 comes to a close, a spokesperson for Silberstein, Awad, and Miklos Personal Injury Lawyers shared some thoughts about product liability lawsuits, and what the next few years could mean for New Yorkers.
The Law Firm of Silberstein, Awad, and Miklos, P.C., has specialized in representing New York City residents injured by defective products. They can be reached on their website at https://ask4sam.net/product-liability-lawyer-new-york, or by calling 877-ASK4SAM.
Product liability claims can provide compensation for medical bills, lost wages, future medical needs, therapy, loss of quality of life, emotional distress, and more. New York does limit the amount of time injured parties have to file, capping it in nearly all cases at 3 years from the time one learns about the injury that they have suffered. This means that the process of starting to file a legal claim against the product manufacturer must begin relatively quickly, before the statute of limitations has passed.
The vast majority of product liability or defective product personal injury cases resolve down to some form of negligence being the driving factor that results in the injury. This means that the named defendant (i.e., the person against whom a lawsuit is filed) was careless in some way, and that this carelessness resulted in a compromise of the safety of the product. However, product liability laws permit claims based on "strict liability," which can remove the need to prove the manufacturer's own negligence, and instead can simply resolve to prove that the product contained a defect which resulted a dangerous product with a design defect, and such manufacturing defects lead to injuries and damage. Other types of product liability include "marketing defects," which implies a "failure to warn" about a potential danger associated with a product, usually through a clear warning label.
Working with a personal injury attorney to bring a product liability lawsuit against a manufacturer is usually the smoothest way to navigate the various deadlines, hurdles, and legal processes, and ensure a successful verdict or judgment, or maximize a settlement with the manufacturer or insurance company.
"Some of the most common faulty products our legal team sees involve drugs, food, and heavy machinery like vehicles and construction equipment," said the spokesperson for Silberstein, Awad, and Miklos. "One of the surprisingly common products we see liability issues is something most new yorkers encounter 3 or more times a day: Food. Food products go through a long process before they reach the hands of consumers. Farmers and manufacturers produce the food, different companies distribute the food, and in many cases, other companies then prepare the food. When proper food handling practices are not put in place, food can become cross-contaminated or spoiled. Due to the fact that one type of product can be distributed to thousands or millions, many people can become sick."
Drugs, medical products, and pharmaceuticals are also often the culprits in product injury claims and liability lawsuits. "Doctors prescribe drugs every day in New York and typically, patients do not research the drugs they are given. Some of the drugs that have commonly appeared in product liability claims in recent years include Zantac, Actos, Zoloft, Prozac, and more. This can be because of defective drugs, lacking proper warnings about interactions, and more."
The Long Island Personal Injury Law Firm of Silberstein, Awad, and Miklos P.C. has been regarded as one of the top law firms in New York City, and has received over 700 5-star reviews across their various New York City locations. Some of those reviews can be viewed at https://youtu.be/f5HSyk-9WKM They have helped secure millions of dollars for their clients, including settling landmark cases that have resulted in records for the maximum compensation for medical malpractice.
