New York Product Liability Lawyer

Defective Product Cases We Handle

Backed by over a century of collective legal experience, our New York product liability lawyers at Dansker & Aspromonte Associates LLP can handle a range of cases involving dangerous and defective products. 

This includes claims involving: 

• Auto defects, including defective brakes, tires, and vehicle components
• Consumer products and children’s toys
• Recreational equipment such as camp stoves, ROVs, and ATVs
• Bicycles, scooters, and other transportation devices 
• Industrial machinery, equipment, and tools
• Swimming pools and swimming pool equipment
• Medical devices and medical equipment
• Medications and pharmaceutical products

What is Product Liability?

Product liability is the liability companies have for injuries caused by products they manufactured, distributed, and/or sold and marketed to consumers. This liability is based on the fact that product makers generally:

• Have a legal duty to use reasonable care to ensure their products are safe when they are released to the market.
• Can be held liable (financially responsible) for damages caused by products that failed to perform as intended.

If you are injured by a dangerous or defective product, you may have grounds to pursue a claim based on product liability. However, the viability of your product liability lawsuit will depend on the specific circumstances surrounding your accident. As such, the best way to evaluate whether you have a case is to have your matter reviewed by an experienced lawyer.

Types of Product Liability Claims

While every case is different, there are several different causes of action commonly brought by victims in product liability cases. These include claims based generally on Strict Liability, Negligence, and Breach of Warranty.

Strict Liability

Strict liability holds product makers (which include companies that manufacture, distribute, or sell/market products) strictly liable for injuries caused by defective products that are used by consumers in a reasonably foreseeable manner. 

When victims bring claims based on strict liability, they do not have to prove negligence like they would in traditional negligence-based actions, such as in personal injury claims filed over car accidents. However, they must prove other elements depending on the specific cause of action they bring.

Examples of strict liability claims include:

• Manufacturing Defects: Manufacturing defects are those which occur during the construction or production of a product, and which cause the product to differ from its intended design or from other products in the same product line. Manufacturing defects may involve the use of low-quality or inappropriate materials, poor workmanship, negligent quality control, and other problematic issues that that make a product dangerous.
• Design Defects: Product makers are liable for defectively designed products, which are products that are dangerous before they are ever produced. This can happen when a manufacturer fails to correctly engineer a load-bearing product, when dresser drawers are prone to tip-overs because they don’t have wall anchors, when companies fail to use safer alternative designs, or other critical flaws in the design of products that make them unreasonably dangerous.
• Marketing Defects: Claims of marketing defects may allege that product makers failed to provide adequate warnings about foreseeable risks consumers face when using the product as intended, failed to provide adequate instructions, or other similar claims. 

Product Negligence 

Negligence claims are another common way that victims in product liability cases hold product makers liable for their damages. 

These claims require victims to prove that a product maker failed to act in a reasonable manner when working to protect consumers against foreseeable risks of harm. In other words, they need to show that a product maker knew or should have known about potential risks, but failed to take reasonable steps to address them.

Common negligence claims in product liability cases include:

• Negligent manufacture, design, or supply
• Negligent installation 
• Negligent inspection or repair
• Negligent rental

Breach of Warranty

Though less common than strict liability or negligence actions, breach of warrant claims may be a viable way for victims injured by defective products to recover compensation. These claims generally involve allegations that the product maker or supplier breached express warranties (those expressly stated verbally or in writing to consumers) or implied warranties (those that are unwritten). 

Determining which theory of liability can be used as the basis for your product liability claim is a matter that demands the attention of experienced attorneys. Our team at Dansker & Aspromonte Associates LLP has extensive experience litigating these causes of action and can assist in reviewing your potential case to determine which approach is best.

Investigating Your Product Liability Claim

As with any claim involving serious injuries or wrongful death, product liability claims require ample investigation and preparation.

By immediately launching investigations after we are contacted by victims, our attorneys at Dansker & Aspromonte Associates LLP help gather the necessary information we need to support claims, build compelling cases, and position clients for financial recoveries they deserve. 

Some of the investigative steps we take in defective products cases includes:

• Immediate preservation of the product in question, and ongoing support to ensure it is safely and correctly preserved so as not to raise chain of custody issues.
• Investigations into the circumstances surrounding an accident, including the scene of the accident, to determine how the product may have caused injury.
• Working with relevant experts and engineers who can provide testimony about the safety and function of certain products. 
• Working with defendants to exchange evidence and information in discovery. 

In addition to taking a front-footed approach when investigating cases, our firm also leverages our experience and insight to pursue the maximum recovery possible for clients. This includes handling all communications with defendants and insurance companies, engaging in out-of-court negotiations, and litigating at trial when necessary.