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Philadelphia Product Liability Lawyer

Philadelphia Product Liability Lawyer

Each year, consumer products injure at least 31 million Americans and kill approximately 23,000, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. While these numbers may sound alarmingly high, we don’t doubt their validity. After all, here at Laffey Bucci D’Andrea Reich & Ryan, we meet with countless prospective clients who’ve been seriously hurt or lost a loved one because they used a dangerous or defective product daily.

During those initial consultations, those injury victims or surviving family members of the deceased tell us about how all different types of items maimed them or took their loved one’s lives. When causation is clear, the Philadelphia product liability lawyer they’re meeting with advises of legal options available to them for holding the person or entity who harmed them responsible for their actions.

If a product you used as per instructions caused you or a close relative harm, we want to offer you a free case evaluation. During this meeting, we’ll ask you more about the consumer good you used, your use of it, and how it hurt you. We’ll then advise you of your options for filing a civil lawsuit to recover compensation for your losses, depending on your answers and any evidence you may have available to substantiate your claims.

This initial case review is free of charge, so if you’re injured or a family member recently died, be sure to reach out to us to discuss your legal matter with one of our attorneys. It’s the first step toward seeking justice for what happened to you.

Understanding Pennsylvania Product Liability Law

This area of the law centers around consumers suffering injuries or becoming ill after using defective or dangerous products. Under Pennsylvania law, any party responsible for bringing that item to market, including designers, manufacturers, marketers, distributors, and retailers, can be held responsible for these defects when harm occurs. Attorneys like ours assist individuals harmed by these products in filing insurance claims or personal injury lawsuits to recover compensation for their losses.

Types of Defects Products Can Have

Product liability claims generally center around a consumer good having one of three different defects, including a:

  • Design defect:

    A flawed design can lead to someone suffering harm when they attempt to use a product, even when they utilize it as instructed. It’s not uncommon for a designer not to take into account the implications of a consumer good having an exposed sharp component, which could easily cut users upon regular use. As another example, a choice to use the wrong materials to make the object could mean that it doesn’t live up to expectations and poses a safety risk.

  • Manufacturing defect:

    These issues typically arise when a product is being fabricated. For example, an improperly produced auto part may be adequately sized to shield potentially flammable fluids from leaking on an electrical component, leading to a fire. Similarly, contamination in a drug laboratory could mean that consumers are exposed to dangerous substances that could worsen their health. Either poor design or fabrication concerns can lead to a product malfunction, injuring consumers.

  • Advertising defect:

    It’s the responsibility of marketers and advertisers to notify users of potential harm individuals may face when consuming or using a product. A failure to warn that a product contains small parts that may pose a choking hazard to children under the age of three or inadequate warnings that a particular food item was produced in a facility that does utilize those allergens could potentially put consumers at risk for harm.

Common Types of Defective Products That Harm Consumers

Over the years since our law firm’s inception, we have represented clients who have suffered injuries in varied ways, including by using the following products and others.

Whether you’ve been hurt by one of the products described above or something else, so long as it’s possible to prove that some kind of defect resulted in you suffering harm, you likely have a viable claim. Here at Laffey Bucci D’Andrea Reich & Ryan, we are available for free case reviews. So, if someone else’s actions harmed you, contact us to be put in contact with one of our attorneys to assess your case and advise you of your rights.

  • Power tools:

    Over the years, our firm has handled cases in which nail guns, drills, sanders, saws, and countless other similar tools have left our clients injured.

  • Building site equipment:

    This category includes ladders, scaffolds, cranes, and pulley systems are all examples of these.

  • Automobiles and other methods of transportation:

    Cars, trucks, and other types of motor vehicles like airplanes, boats, and trains can cause harm, as can their components, like airbags, tires, or after-market auto parts

  • Medical products:

    This category includes over-the-counter and prescription drugs, health care equipment, and medical devices

  • Building site equipment:

    This category includes ladders, scaffolds, cranes, and pulley systems are all examples of these.

  • Lithium-ion battery-powered devices:

    Included in this category may be everyday consumer electronic products, vape pens and e-cigarettes, e-scooters, and more

  • Furniture:

    A dining room chair, recliner, high chair, or dresser are all examples of poorly designed, manufactured, or marketed homewares that harm consumers

  • Yard machines:

    Chainsaws, zero-turn lawn mowers,

  • Building components:

    Elevators and escalators are examples of these

  • Children’s toys:

    This may include technology that includes lithium batteries or stuffed animals or figurines that have small parts that pose a choking hazard, for example

  • Heavy equipment:

    Cranes, forklifts, and excavators are all types of these

  • Kitchen appliances:

    Included in this category are air fryers, blenders, toaster ovens, microwaves, as well as large appliances like dishwashers

  • Health and beauty aids:

    This includes hair straighteners, curling irons, and rollers, as well as facial tools and poorly labeled lotions, serums, and creams

Successful Results For Our Clients

We get results for our clients, because that’s what really matters. Over the course of four decades in combined trial experience, our dedicated work injury attorneys have secured hundred millions of dollars in compensation for injured workers. You deserve justice.

  • $4 Million

    Construction worker suffered serious brain injury after falling 20 feet due to lack of required fall protection

  • $2.75 Million

    Dock worker run over by a forklift at a cruise ship terminal causing catastrophic injuries

  • $925,000

    Nail gun defect case that cause permanent injuries to a worker

  • $1 Million

    Nail gun accident where nail gun discharged sideways resulting in a nail hitting user’s eye

  • $1 Million

    A union carpenter fell through an interior mobile scaffold while at work, suffering bilateral calcaneal fractures

  • $4 Million

    A construction worker fell 20 feet because he was not provided with fall protection

  • $8.5 Million

    A construction accident involving a union roofer who was working without fall protection and fell from a roof resulting in a permanent paraplegic injury

  • $1 Million

    On the job injury to a union carpenter who fell through an interior mobile scaffold, suffering bilateral calcaneal fractures

  • $1 Million

    Factory supervisor’s hand was crushed at work due to faulty equipment/machine.

  • $1.5 million

    Worker sustained severe burn injuries as a result of an electrical explosion.

  • $2 Million

    Chemical exposure causing burn and inhalation injuries to three union carpenters.

  • $13 Million

    Work accident resulting in an above the knee amputation of the worker’s leg

  • $13 Million

    Philadelphia Kimmel Center construction collapse causing catastrophic injuries

  • $1.8 Million

    Stadium demolition accident which occurred when a front loader fell through a ceiling (Philadelphia, PA)

  • $2.8 Million

    Forklift accident at marine terminal in New Jersey

  • $13 Million

    Crane accident resulting in leg amputation and other injuries during casino construction (Philadelphia, PA)

  • Confidential Multi-Million Dollar Recovery

    Construction worker killed when he came into contact with an uncapped, live electrical wire

  • $1.5 million

    Injuries incurred in a workplace accident where plaintiff sustained severe burn injuries as a result of an electrical explosion

  • $2.5 million

    The electrocution death of a union electrician on the job, when electrical switch gear malfunctioned

  • $1.5 million

    Wrongful death of a tow truck driver who died on the job when he was accidentally run over by his own tow truck

  • $2.5 million

    Wrongful death by electrocution of a union electrician on the job, when electrical switchgear malfunctioned

  • $2.75 million

    Slip and fall case where client suffered serious personal injuries from a fall

  • $1 million

    The on the job injury to a union carpenter who fell through an interior mobile scaffold while at work, suffering bilateral calcaneal fractures

  • $1 million

    Injuries on the job incurred by a factory supervisor when his hand was crushed at work due to faulty equipment

  • $1.5 million

    Injuries incurred in a workplace accident on the job where plaintiff sustained severe burn injuries as a result of an electrical explosion

  • $2 million

    An inadvertent release of dangerous chemicals at a local oil company, causing on the job burn and inhalation injuries to three union carpenters

  • $4 million

    Construction worker suffered serious brain injury after falling 20 feet due to lack of required fall protection

  • $5 million

    A construction accident on the job where union laborer was killed while working on the fourth floor of a building because there was no fall protection

  • $8.5 million

    A construction accident on the job involving union roofer who was working without fall protection and fell from a roof resulting in permanent paraplegic injury

  • $12 million

    A construction accident on the job involving union roofer who fell from a roof because there was no fall protection and suffered quadriplegia

  • $7,500,000

    Union carpenter sustained serious shoulder injuries when he fell after stepping on another contractor’s debris

  • $101 million

    The collapse of a parking garage at the Tropicana Casino in Atlantic City that injured over 30 construction workers on the job and killed 4 men working on the project (largest construction accident settlement in U.S. history).

  • $1.1 million

    Against a fraternity for negligently serving alcohol which resulted in a stabbing assault of two frat party attendees

  • $2.5 million

    A workplace accident on the job resulting in below-the-knee amputation of the plaintiff’s right leg

  • $2.5 million

    An on the job injury where an union carpenter fell on a construction site and was injured because of defective fall protection equipment

Proving a Product Liability Case

Our state laws don’t require you to prove negligence to move forward in filing a product liability claim. Instead, the strict liability standard applies, meaning you need only to show that someone along the supply chain was responsible for the issue that caused you as a consumer harm.

Examples of defects that may show that a manufacturer, designer, or distributor is liable include:

  • The design is lacking or contains a feature that renders it unsafe
  • The product’s formulation or fabrication made it risky to use
  • Instructions that accompanied the product were inadequate, and risks in using the product went unmentioned

As with many injury cases, sourcing evidence that proves these elements necessary to put forth a solid claim can be challenging. This is where it can be helpful to have the support of an experienced Philadelphia product liability lawyer in your corner. If you’re looking for guidance regarding your case, call or email us for a free consultation.

Finding the Right Philadelphia Product
Liability Attorney To Handle Your Case

Each year, Pennsylvania residents buy countless consumer goods with the expectation they’re safe. This, unfortunately, isn’t the case, though. If you are one of the unfortunate ones who has suffered harm due to a designer, manufacturer, advertiser, or retailer’s oversight, we want to help you.

A serious injury or illness can seriously sidetrack your life. You likely don’t have time to do much more than focus on getting better or coming to terms with the preventable loss of your family member.

Searching for an attorney to represent you, alleviating some of the burden off your shoulders, can be a job in itself.

So, stop looking and contact us online or call us to have a conversation with a Philadelphia product liability lawyer today. We offer free consultations at Laffey Bucci D’Andrea Reich & Ryan and we represent clients on a contingency basis meaning we don’t collect any attorney’s fees unless we secure a settlement for you.

How Laffey Bucci D’Andrea Reich & Ryan Can Help With Your Product Liability Claim

The problem with injury incidents like these is that they occur unexpectedly. The learning curve can be sharp as you seek to determine if you have a viable product liability claim, how to gather evidence, and what steps you need to follow to build a strong case that commands the maximum compensation you deserve.

Since mastering all of this can be challenging, especially as you’re recovering from serious injuries or grieving the untimely loss of a loved one, many individuals like you turn to experienced attorneys like ours for help.

At Laffey Bucci D’Andrea Reich & Ryan, we can provide you with the following assistance:

  • Evaluate your case:

    We’ll want to know more about the moments preceding the onset of your injury, including how you used the potentially defective product, to determine the strength of your claim.

  • Investigate the defect:

    Our team will thoroughly evaluate the product’s design, manufacturing process, and history to pinpoint if the potential defendants engaged in any apparent negligence or wrongdoing.

  • Build a strong case:

    We’ll gather evidence, consult with experts if necessary, and craft a strong demand packet that proves that the defective product caused your injury.

  • Negotiate with insurers:

    Our legal team will handle all communication with insurance adjusters on your behalf, including negotiating an out-of-court settlement with them as appropriate.

  • Represent you in court:

    It’s not uncommon for insurance companies to deny liability, especially in the face of mass recalls and significant losses. We’re more than willing to take your case to trial to ensure you have the best possible chance of securing a financial recovery if settling out-of-court doesn’t appear possible.

Compensation Available to Individuals Hurt by Dangerous Items

“Damages” is the legal term that refers to the losses someone maimed by a defective product may incur. Compensation such as the following may be available to individuals like yourself who have successful product liability claims:

  • Past and future medical expenses
  • Lost wages, diminished earning capacity, and future lost earnings
  • Pain and suffering
  • Mental health impacts, including emotional distress
  • Disfigurement

Should a case proceed to trial and there’s evidence suggesting that a defendant’s conduct was particularly egregious, the Court may award punitive damages. Generally, this happens to punish the wrongdoer and deter similar conduct in the future.

In addition to the above-referenced, recovery of funeral or burial costs, benefits, and other non-economic losses may be possible by filing a wrongful death claim or survival action.

How Long Victims Have To File Product Liability Claims in Philadelphia

The statute of limitations is the filing deadline that applies to filing legal cases. The timeline within which plaintiffs hurt by dangerous products must file lawsuits against responsible parties is generally two years. However, like most rules, there are some exceptions to this one, including the discovery rule and in cases where:

  • The victim is a minor
  • A victim became aware of their product-related illness or injury some time after it actually harmed them
  • The injury or illness the victim suffered by using the defective product rendered them incapacitated

Given how insurance claim and lawsuit filing deadlines can vary significantly, it’s essential to consult with an experienced attorney, like those at Laffey Bucci D’Andrea Reich & Ryan, to ensure you meet all filing deadlines and protect your right to compensation.

How a Recall Impacts Your Right To File a Claim

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission maintains a running, searchable list of the millions of recalls that both manufacturers and the government issue each year. Oftentimes, products don’t make it on those lists until long after it injures someone and, in many cases, it’s only after several people have suffered serious harm. In other cases, recalls of dangerous and defective products never occur at all.

Situations regarding recalls, as described above, often lead injury victims to ask about how a recall impacts their ability to take legal action. We say it depends. We urge you to reach out to a product liability attorney to discuss the item and the circumstances under which it harmed you as well as your injuries so we can provide guidance regarding your legal matter.

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“Defective product litigation is complex and demanding. We pride ourselves on the results we achieve for our deserving clients.”

Paul Bucci – Founding Partner

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