It is frustrating, unfair, and wrong when you are harmed by a product upon which you have relied. Defective products constitute appliances that malfunction, unsafe vehicles, and hazardous medicines.
Total personal injury and product liability filings increased at a 78 percent rate for the period ending March 31, 2024, according to the United States Courts. In some cases, defective materials like asbestos have even led to life-threatening illnesses such as mesothelioma, a cancer linked to asbestos exposure, according to the civil litigation law firm website https://www.usmesotheliomalaw.com/.
Product liability claims allow injured persons to pursue justice and compensation. The compensation in these cases can be used to pay medical bills, lost income, or even for pain and suffering due to the injury.
Let’s look into the types of compensation you can go after in a product liability claim.
If you ever find yourself in a product liability case, the way you would like to receive your monetary awards could very much affect your case. You might have heard someone bring up compensatory damages at some point.
These damages could include diminished quality of life, emotional discomfort, and physical pain. Every kind of compensatory harm takes into account the ways in which the faulty product has impacted you directly, necessitating that you experience and communicate these effects.
If the manufacturer is found to have been negligent, punitive damages may be awarded. Being aware of them will enable you to bargain more effectively and get the money you are due. According to product liability attorney Daniel P. Powell, you should not speak with or settle with an insurance company before receiving legal advice regarding your case, as some insurance companies may act in bad faith.
Medical expenses and lost earnings will be part of your economic damages in a product liability claim-related lawsuit, which can put you in a bind financially. Injuries may result in medical expenses for treatment, medication, and rehabilitation, which depend on the specific defective product involved.
Bills keep piling up, getting costly, frustrating you more, and draining you out. You can't go back to work while injured, incurring further loss of income. To prove your claim, keep a record of the medical expenses you incurred and the lost wages.
Once you acquire a solid understanding of economic damages, you can better prepare yourself to challenge an insurance company or party to obtain damages rightfully owed to you.
Pain and suffering can affect your standard of living after you are injured by a defective product. You suffer increased physical pain, mental anguish, and a sense of feeling alone as you try to go about your daily activities.
Non-economic damages go beyond just hospital bills. They include emotional disturbances, loss of enjoyment in life, and changes to relationships that happen following a product liability incident.
You must genuinely communicate your adverse experiences when making a claim. Writing about your feelings and life changes can powerfully express the depth of sorrow and suffering you've endured.
In the process of doing so, the person has a higher chance to be compensated and supported and to feel as if they are not the only ones going through this matter.
While most damages in product liability claims tend to focus on compensation for actual loss, punitive damages seek to punish the wrongdoer and deter the repetition of such acts.
You may just want to recover the costs, but imposing penalties can hold liable parties accountable for their actions. When a product defect arises from gross negligence or an intentional act, courts may grant punitive damages.
Enforcement of punitive damages sends a message that careless behavior is not tolerated. The existence of punitive damages provides some solace, helping you and others feel supported in the battle toward holding marketplace accountability.
Several factors can affect how much money you can receive in a product liability claim. Some of these factors include the extent of injury to the claimant; the greater the trauma, the higher the compensation awarded.
Next are the medical expenses and loss of wages-a good record of such expenses helps the claimant prove and enforce his or her claims. If the manufacturer knew of a defect, your damages may be higher.
Then there is the ability to prove negligence, which plays quite a part in influencing or affecting your case. State laws combined with the jury might also affect your compensation.
Understanding these factors helps you maneuver your claim and seek just compensation.
