Product Liability Attorney: Injuries from Defective Products

This video features Tad Thomas, a Medical Malpractice attorney based in Illinois.

What To Do if Hurt by a Product

Video Transcript:

Tad Thomas:

But your time is going to start rolling right away, so you need to reach out to an attorney who knows products liability right away and get the advice that you need.

Rob Rosenthal:

If you're injured because of a faulty or dangerous product, what kind of help is available to you? Well, we're going to find out because that's what we're going to ask the lawyer.

Hi again, everybody. I'm Rob Rosenthal with askthelawyers.com, and my guest is Kentucky attorney Tad Thomas. Tad, good to see again as always. Thanks for helping us out.

Tad Thomas:

You too, Rob. Good to see you.

Rob Rosenthal:

So we're talking about what lawyers call product liability. Tell us what that is.

Tad Thomas:

Products liability can be all sorts of different things; any product that is put out on the market by a manufacturer can be defective in a couple of different ways. Lawyers talk about manufacturing defects and design defects. So for instance, you could have a car that causes injury because it was designed improperly from the beginning, so all the cars of that make and model are defective and can cause injury. Or you can have a manufacturing defect; let's say, on one particular day, one machine wasn't working, so the cars that came out that day are unsafe. And that's what we call a manufacturing defect, but it can apply to any type of product from cars and vehicles to defective pharmaceuticals or even medical devices.

Rob Rosenthal:

Can it also apply to household appliances and things like that if something goes haywire?

Tad Thomas:

Absolutely. Particularly in children stories; one of the cases I handled was involving a child’s toy, where the chemical in the toy when a child would swallow it—and you know, little kids swallow toys every now and then—it would actually work almost like the date-rape drug, and the children would lose conciousness and lose control their bodies. So even something as small as a toy.

Rob Rosenthal:

That's crazy. So that sounds like a pretty serious injury. Are we talking just the whole gamut of injuries that are possible in product liability?

Tad Thomas:

You know, it can be anything. Interestingly in that case, it was a very serious issue for the parents, obviously, but after a couple of days the child fully recovered, so that was good. But we have a lot of cases where people don't. It can be a motor vehicle case where you have a tire that blows, and the car flips and someone can be killed. We have cases where people get cancer, for instance; you may have heard about the Round-Up cases and Round-Up causing Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. So they can cause very, very serious injuries.

Rob Rosenthal:

These days we hear about the global marketplace, Tad, and more and more things are made overseas. Does that lead to more of these situations? Does it make the job more difficult for somebody like you as you try to figure out who's to blame?

Tad Thomas:

It can. It makes it a lot more complicated, but not impossible to pursue the claim. For instance, in the child's toy case I was telling you about, the United States manufacturer that designed the toy designed it properly, but then they sent it over to China to be manufactured. And the Chinese company that made it, changed the chemical compound in it, and so that's why it became dangerous. So it becomes more difficult to pursue companies that are overseas, but typically the United States companies that do business with the company's overseas are responsible for the products that they're importing. So someone who is injured by a product manufactured overseas can still seek recourse in the United States.

Rob Rosenthal:

Is there ever a time where the seller could be responsible too? You know, so many things are being sold on Amazon that there's so many different levels. Could that happen sometimes too?

Tad Thomas:

Absolutely. You know, it depends on what the seller knew or should have known, that’s the law in most states. Also, if they change the product in any way; a lot of times products come from overseas and they're still in parts, and then you have an American company that's a manufacturer essentially assembling a product. For example, cars are made that way. So depending on what role they had when the product comes into the United States, they can still be responsible.

Rob Rosenthal:

If somebody is injured by a product that maybe has been recalled, does that mean then they don't have a case, Tad?

Tad Thomas:

It actually means we probably have a better case. You know, the fact that it's been recalled means some government agency has already made the determination that the product is unsafe. So if anything, that would help your case.

Rob Rosenthal:

So, let's follow that along. Someone's injured by a household product or some other sort of product; what's the process? What should they do? What's your expert advice there?

Tad Thomas:

The most important thing is to keep the product. So, if you're injured because of a pharmaceutical and you have some of the drug left over, make sure you keep that for your lawyer. If it's a household product, there are some cases involving blenders, for instance. You need to make sure you keep that. Don't get rid of it. Even in cases where we have medical devices, like a defective hip that you have to have surgery and have it taken out, we actually work with the hospitals and the surgeons to make sure that the hip is retained, so that we have that advice. So the most important thing is keep the evidence.

The second most important thing is to reach out to a lawyer right away, because in every state there is a statute of limitations that will cut off the date at which you can file suit and seek recourse. That starts, in most states, as soon as you believe you've been injured as a result of the defective product. Your time is going to start rolling right away, so you need to reach out to an attorney who knows products liability right away and get the advice that you need.

Rob Rosenthal:

Is there any benefit, Tad, to contacting the manufacturer directly? Let’s say somebody was injured, we’ll use your blender example. Is there any benefit to calling the manufacturer and saying, “Hey, your product hurt me.” Or should you wait and let your attorney do that sort of thing?

Tad Thomas:

Typically, no. Let me give you an example. We have a case now, product liability case, where the company did have a compensation plan so that if someone was injured by their products and called, they would be compensated. After we got into the case and filed in many, many cases, the average compensation for the clients that we represented was far greater than what that company had been paying in their compensation program. So you still want to reach out to an attorney and get some advice. If you have a small case they may tell you to reach out to the manufacturer. But especially if it's a serious injury, you need to talk to an attorney.

Rob Rosenthal:

I imagine if you get their compensation, they're going to have you sign something to make sure you have no more recourse after that.

Tad Thomas:

Absolutely. They're going to have you sign a release. They're probably going to have you sign a confidentiality statement saying you can't talk about it with anyone. So definitely reach out to an attorney before you sign anything, get some advice on whether or not it's an appropriate compensation for the injury, and that the release doesn't cause you more problems going forward. Depending on how the release is written, some payments are taxable, some are not. So you really want to get the advice from someone who knows what they’re doing.

Rob Rosenthal:

Lots of great information as always, Tad. Thank you so much for helping us out and answering our questions.

Tad Thomas:

Thanks for having me, Rob.

Rob Rosenthal:

That's going to do it for this episode of Ask the Lawyer. My guest has been Kentucky attorney Tas Thomas. Remember, if you want the best information or you want to make sure you can choose a lawyer that lawyers choose, head over to askthelawyers.com. Thanks for watching. I'm Rob Rosenthal with AskTheLawyers™.

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