Did you recently lose a loved one due to a defective product not performing as was promised? If so, you and your family might be entitled to financial compensation. That said, you can be sure that the makers of the defective product will defend themselves vigorously in any legal case. With that said, you are going to have to do your homework if you expect to win this case. To that end, here are some tips to keep in mind when pursuing legal action in this type of wrongful death case.
First Things First, Hire an Attorney
Before you can even think about filing suit or asking for a settlement, you will need an experienced lawyer on your side who is an expert in wrongful death law. The makers of the defective product are likely to already have lawyers on their staff and you can be sure they will do everything possible to limit the damage from this case or even get it thrown out entirely. Hiring your own lawyer before this process begins can help give you a fighting chance of receiving the justice that you seek.
Check the Company's History
A common defense in these types of cases often involves the maker of the defective product simply saying that what happened was an accident that they cannot possibly be directly liable for. But make sure you do your homework. If you can find examples of other people having problems with the same product, this could work in your favor even if the other incidents did not result in death. Demonstrating that a company knew a product had a specific problem and did not do enough to fix it can be used to your advantage in court or at the negotiating table. If, for example, other children were injured while using a specific car seat, this could be used as evidence if the car seat was never changed or fixed prior to your infant's death.
Demonstrate You Used the Product Properly
Another common defense in wrongful death suits is to try and say that the deceased made a mistake when using the product that led to death. Using the car seat example again, the company could try to say that the parent did not properly strap the infant into the seat. In this case, you may be able to find footage from a traffic cam at a red light or a local business along the main road that will clearly show your infant was correctly positioned and strapped into the seat. Prove your loved one did everything the company told them to do while using the product and it still malfunctioned anyway, and you will bolster your case.
Contact a wrongful death attorney from a company like Forstman & Cutchen LLP today for more information.
Share9 July 2019
After I was in a car accident, I wasn't sure what I was going to do in the future. I had some really significant back and neck pain, so I started talking with a lawyer about how to recover some of my losses. I began working with an attorney to take care of things, but I was nervous about how the process would unfold. I began working with the attorney to evaluate every component of the incident, and help me to decode the problems I was faced with. We worked on learning more about the lawsuit, and it helped me to make sense of the situation. Learn more about accidents on this blog.