West Mifflin, PA asked in Personal Injury and Products Liability for Pennsylvania

Q: Are all personal injuries as a result of a defective product treated the same when there was a significant injury.

The product in question was examined by an expert and found to be faulty. The hospital bill was over $14,000. Time off work and lost wages total approximately $20,000.

1 Lawyer Answer
Tim Akpinar
Tim Akpinar
Answered
  • Products Liability Lawyer
  • Little Neck, NY

A: A Pennsylvania attorney could advise best, but your question remains open for two weeks. Yes, they can be seen as the SAME in terms of the basic underlying legal theories applied. The claimant will need to show that the product was defective. This could mean the product was defectively designed, defectively manufactured, or failed to provide adequate warnings.

At the same time, the cases can be DIFFERENT in terms of the damages sought by the plaintiff, both in the scope of the elements sought and the dollar figures on those elements. It's helpful to you that you have an expert who determined that the product was defective. But it doesn't end there. The opposing attorney might not necessarily take that at face value. They could come back with their own expert who offers a theory that the product was improperly used rather than being defective (or some other theory). This can be a contentious aspect of product liability cases. Good luck

Justia Ask a Lawyer is a forum for consumers to get answers to basic legal questions. Any information sent through Justia Ask a Lawyer is not secure and is done so on a non-confidential basis only.

The use of this website to ask questions or receive answers does not create an attorney–client relationship between you and Justia, or between you and any attorney who receives your information or responds to your questions, nor is it intended to create such a relationship. Additionally, no responses on this forum constitute legal advice, which must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case. You should not act upon information provided in Justia Ask a Lawyer without seeking professional counsel from an attorney admitted or authorized to practice in your jurisdiction. Justia assumes no responsibility to any person who relies on information contained on or received through this site and disclaims all liability in respect to such information.

Justia cannot guarantee that the information on this website (including any legal information provided by an attorney through this service) is accurate, complete, or up-to-date. While we intend to make every attempt to keep the information on this site current, the owners of and contributors to this site make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information contained in or linked to from this site.