What Must I Prove in Order to Win a Product Liability Case?
If a defective product caused your injuries, product liability law says that you do not need to prove negligence. Instead, you only need to show that the product had a defect when you bought it, that you did not alter it significantly, and that you suffered injuries because of the defect.
The product liability attorneys at Gacovino, Lake & Associates, P.C. can help you understand your legal options for compensation if you suffered injuries due to a defective consumer product. Call us today at 631-600-0000 to schedule your complimentary case evaluation.
Strict Liability and Product Defects
The liability standard for defective products cases is strict liability. This standard makes it possible to win compensation for your injuries without ever showing the company did not take the proper precautions and acted negligently. While we may believe it caused your injuries, we do not have to provide proof the company failed to study the viability of their design or test the product properly after manufacturing.
Instead, we only need to show the product had a defect, this defect caused your injuries, and that you did not alter the product in any significant way. As long as you used the product according to the instructions or in the way a reasonable person would, we should be able to prove your case and win compensation for your damages.
Types of Damages Available in a Defective Product Case
Depending on the injuries and financial losses you suffered, we may be able to recover a wide range of damages in your product liability case. This may include money to cover your:
- Medical care
- Therapy and Rehabilitation costs
- Past and future lost wages
- Property damage
- Other accident-related costs
We will also request compensation to pay for your noneconomic damages (pain and suffering). We can explain what we include in these damages, and calculate how much they might be worth based on the facts of your case.
You can obtain economic and noneconomic damages through either an insurance claim or a product liability lawsuit. We can typically settle these cases out of court, but sometimes it is necessary for us to take your case to court because the judge may award punitive damages. These damages punish a reckless company, such as a manufacturer that knew about a danger but hid it from consumers. While judges give out punitive damages only in rare circumstances, they could make up a substantial part of the total award.
Causes of Product Defects
There are three primary ways that products can be defective:
- They have a defective design that does not work properly
- They have manufacturing defects that cause breakage or improper function
- They have improper instructions or lack proper warnings about their dangers
Some of the common reasons defects occur include companies that fail to properly test a product before sending on to the marketplace, using cheaper or weaker materials than needed during the manufacturing process, and failing to include proper instructions with a product. Defects can also occur after the manufacturing process concludes. A company that transported a medication to pharmacies, for example, might not keep it at the proper temperature, and this could cause significant issues for consumers.
Talk to a Product Liability Attorney Today
The attorneys at Gacovino, Lake & Associates, P.C. can help you build a case against the manufacturer of the product that caused your injuries. Call us today at 631-600-0000 for your free case review.
What To Do After A Car Accident on Long Island
Knowing what to do after a car accident on Long Island can make a big difference in your recovery — both physically and financially. By following these tips, we can walk you through the process of how to prioritize your actions in the hours, days, and weeks after a serious New York car crash. This will help us prove your claim, and recover fair compensation for you based on the facts of your case.
If you suffered injuries in a Long Island car accident, the attorneys at Gacovino, Lake & Associates. P.C. are here to help. Call us today at 631-600-0000 to talk to an attorney about your claim.
Get Medical Care and Continue Following Your Treatment Plan
Getting immediate medical care after an accident, and sticking to the treatment plan prescribed by your doctor, is paramount in your physical healing and your financial recovery. Getting a prompt diagnosis and beginning treatment right away, undergoing all recommended surgeries, and attending all therapy sessions is the best way to heal as completely as possible from your injuries.
At the same time, getting medical attention immediately after an accident makes it harder to dispute your injuries came from the accident. For example, if you suffered a broken wrist in a car accident but waited several days after your accident to see a doctor, the insurance company would likely attempt to say you suffered the break in some other incident. Tying your broken wrist to the crash would be difficult. However, if paramedics on the scene of the accident looked at your arm and recommended you go to the emergency department for treatment of a broken wrist, this leaves little question about when the injury occurred.
Contact Your Insurance Company
You will need to contact your insurance company about your accident, although you do not have to give them details about your accident or injuries in your initial report. If you suffered minor or moderate injuries, your personal injury protection policy would likely pay out to cover your medical costs and a portion of your lost wages no matter who caused the accident. If the accident was your fault, you might also need to file a claim based on your collision insurance coverage to repair the damage to your vehicle.
It is a good idea to contact your insurance company within a few days of your accident even if you do not have any apparent injuries or property damage. This is true no matter if you believe you caused the crash or not. Many insurance companies have specific rules about how long you have to report an accident, and you need to make sure you meet the rules of your policy.
If you believe you qualify to file a third-party claim based on the at-fault driver’s auto liability policy for either property damages or medical costs, you should call us before you contact the insurance company. Insurance companies look for reasons to reduce your payout or deny your claim, so it is important you limit what you say to the other driver’s insurer. We can manage all communication with the insurer, preserving your right to compensation.
Protect Your Vehicle From Further Damage
It is important to protect your vehicle and other damaged property from further damage. Cover a car with a tarp if it is missing a windshield or windows, or park it inside a garage. If you do not take these actions and your car suffers additional damages, the insurance company is likely to balk at paying for these repairs.
In some cases, especially when only minor repairs are necessary, you could take your car to the garage for repairs. Take as many pictures as possible to show the damages and ask the body shop to document the damage adequately. Then, keep your receipts and other documents and submit them to the insurance company for reimbursement.
Request a Copy of the Police Report and Collect Other Evidence
No matter whether you believe you caused a crash or the other driver was at-fault, it pays to collect documentation of the accident. If we need to file a claim or personal injury lawsuit, this will become evidence in the case. This includes requesting a copy of the police report and checking it for any inconsistencies. You should also sit down and record your memories before, during, and after the crash as early as possible, while your mind still remembers the accident. Keep records of eyewitness names and contact information, pictures you took at the scene and of your damages, and other information related to your accident. You never know what small detail might make all the difference in a car accident claim.
Contact a Long Island Car Accident Attorney
Especially if you suffered serious injuries, we recommend discussing your case with a Long Island car accident lawyer. At Gacovino, Lake & Associates, P.C., we offer free claim evaluations and can help you recover fair compensation. Call us today at 631-600-0000.
What to Do After a Car Accident That’s Not Your Fault
When another driver causes your car accident, it is important to know what to do in the first few days and weeks after the crash. By taking the right actions quickly after your accident, you can ensure your right to fair compensation remains intact. This also means you can hold the at-fault motorist financially liable for the injuries and damages they caused you. Consider following these tips after a collision:
Follow Your Doctor’s Recommendations
See a doctor as soon as possible after your accident and continue to follow their prescribed treatment until they release you. If you disagree with a diagnosis or want to explore other treatment options, be sure to continue your current treatment while getting a second opinion. This is important because, without prompt medical attention and medical records that demonstrate you are taking your injuries seriously, the insurance company is likely to attempt to reduce the payout or deny your claim.
It may allege your injuries occurred in some other way than the car accident, and they are not as serious as you claim. To avoid this, you need medical records that show you got immediate medical care for your injuries and remained under the care of your doctor for the entire time they prescribed.
Contact Your Insurance Company
Even if you were not at fault in an accident, you likely have only a few days following a crash to notify your insurance company. You will not need to give it full information about the incident or your injuries at this time, but most have rules on each policy that require quick notification. You should also file a claim based on your personal injury protection coverage. This coverage pays out for a limited amount of medical care and lost wages no matter who caused the accident.
If your injuries are permanent or will cause disability for at least 90 days, you likely meet the state’s serious injury threshold and can file a claim based on the at-fault motorist’s auto liability policy to cover the remainder of your medical care, lost wages, pain and suffering, and more. Of course, you should also file a liability claim with their insurer to repair or replace your vehicle. You can wait to contact their insurance, however. It can and will use anything you say as a reason to reduce or deny your claim. We can manage all communication with the other driver’s insurer to protect your rights.
Build Your Claim
Request a copy of the police report and collect other documentation related to your accident. If you did not take photographs at the scene, visit with your camera or smartphone and take pictures from every angle. Document your injuries and the damage to your vehicle with pictures. Take the time to write down every detail of the accident you can remember because you will need it to jog your memory as time passes.
All of this can play a key role in proving the other driver acted negligently, which caused your accident and the resulting injuries. When we go to work for you, we will launch an investigation that relies on this evidence to provide a foundation for our accident reconstruction specialists and others who can provide us with insight into your crash. We will also use it as evidence to present to the insurance company.
Prevent Further Damages
While you may think that a little more damage will not make things any worse when your car is already in bad shape, it is important to take reasonable steps to prevent any further damage from occurring. For example, you should cover a vehicle that has broken glass with a tarp or park it in a garage. This prevents rain from causing further damages that the insurance company is unlikely to cover.
If you take your car in for repairs before filing your property damage claim, you should carefully document all damages. Do this before you leave the scene of the accident, when possible. When you take it in, ask the body shop to document all issues and repairs for the insurance company. Do not forget to save your receipts and all paperwork from the body shop or mechanic, because you will need to submit a copy of these to the insurance company when you file your claim. This is the only way it will reimburse you for the money you spent on repairs.
Contact a Car Accident Attorney
At Gacovino, Lake & Associates, P.C., our car accident lawyers understand how the insurance claims process works, and know how to handle the insurance adjuster without jeopardizing your rights. Give us a call today at 631-600-0000, and let us review your claim for free.
