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Birmingham personal injury attorneys at Drake Injury Lawyers

Birmingham Product Liability Attorney

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No one ever expects something they buy to send them to the hospital with serious injuries. Yet each year, this is exactly what happens to thousands of innocent consumers, including small children. When dangerous and defective products injure the public, the manufacturer of the item may be held financially responsible for victims’ injuries.

If you, your child, or someone else in your family has suffered a serious injury as a result of using a product in the manner intended, you may be able to recover compensation for your injuries with the help of an experienced Birmingham personal injury attorney. Contact a specialized Birmingham product liability lawyer at Drake Injury Lawyers today for a free case consultation.

Why Choose Us?

  • We have recovered over $100 million in successful settlements and jury verdicts for our clients.
  • Our attorneys are willing to make home or hospital visits for our clients, when necessary.
  • Our product liability lawyers have been representing clients in Alabama for many years.
  • We have the right experience to take your case, as we only practice personal injury law.
  • We have earned the highest possible rating in a peer-review process: AV.

Defective Product Statistics

When you purchase a product and use it in the condition that it was purchased, for the purpose it was intended, you have the right to expect that you won’t suffer harm as a result of a product defect. But every year thousands of people die and millions are injured as a result of using unsafe consumer products. Consumer Product Safety Commission figures show that every year, as a result of unsafe and defective consumer products:

  • More than 22,000 people die.
  • Approximately 29 million people are injured.
  • 79 percent of all defective product injuries happen to children under the age of 15.
  • 114 babies and toddlers die each year from accidents associated with nursery products.
  • 74,000 children are injured seriously enough to visit an emergency room.

Furthermore, between two and three hundred products are recalled every year when potential safety hazards are discovered. In some cases, the hazard is only discovered after an injury has occurred. It is clear that although manufacturing companies and distributors have a legal responsibility to ensure the safety of their products, many do not. This results in preventable serious injuries.

Alabama Legislation To Protect Consumers

There are several federal and state safety laws that product manufacturers must follow when designing and creating new products. For example, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) is a federal law, passed in 2008, that creates new requirements for testing and documentation of consumer products and restricts levels of certain toxic and dangerous substances. It also criminalizes some serious violations, imposing fines and even jail time on manufacturers who violate the law.

Unfortunately, many manufacturers and distributors have been known to break these laws. Some manufacturers knowingly break the rules to save money or protect their profits, while others unknowingly make mistakes that endanger the lives of consumers. Whether or not a manufacturing company did something wrong, it can be held responsible for a consumer injury or death if it distributes a defective product.

What Are The Three Types of Product Defects?

A product defect is something wrong with the item that makes it unreasonably dangerous for consumers to use. There are three types of product defects that can lead to a faulty or hazardous item, along with consumer injuries and lawsuits. These types of defects can be demonstrated during a product liability claim against the manufacturer or another party to prove liability, or legal responsibility, for the incident. They are:

  1. Design flaw. A design flaw is a problem with the planning or conception of an item that makes the product inherently dangerous. If the item is designed with a missing critical safety feature, for example, or using materials that contain toxins, it has a design defect.
  2. Manufacturing error. A manufacturing defect occurs during the production process. It is a mistake that happens at the manufacturing facility and compromises the safety of an item, such as a defect that makes a bicycle tire fall off in use.
  3. Marketing mistake. A marketing mistake can refer to a safety issue with how the item is packaged, labeled, advertised or marketed. An example is a drug that does not list a serious side effect that the manufacturer knows could be a possibility.

In general, if there is evidence of one of these three types of defects and proof that the item caused the injury in question, the victim will have grounds for what is known as a strict product liability claim. This is a legal theory that makes it easier for a victim to go up against a major manufacturing company, as it does not require the victim to prove the company was negligent.

What Is The Doctrine of Strict Liability in a Birmingham Product Liability Case?

In most personal injury cases, you need to prove that the person or entity that you’re alleging caused the injury was negligent, and that because of that negligence, you or your child suffered an injury that resulted in economic and/or noneconomic damages. Negligence is the failure to act with proper care. In product liability cases, however, the legal doctrine of strict liability applies. In essence, this means that you don’t have to prove negligence. You only need to prove that:

  • The product contained a defect that caused it to be unreasonably hazardous.
  • You or your family member used the product for its intended purpose, and it was not altered from the condition it was in when it was purchased.
  • You or your family member sustained injuries while using the defective product.
  • You or your family member suffered demonstrable damages as a direct result of using the product.

With the help of an experienced Birmingham product liability lawyer, you can claim compensation for your damages through a strict product liability suit in a civil action against the manufacturer, designer, packager, wholesaler, retailer, or anyone along the production and distribution chain. If a defective auto part caused your injury or the death of a loved one, get legal representation from our experienced Birmingham auto defect lawyers to seek compensation from the liable party.

Common Types of Defective Products

Some products have been found to contain defects in their design, manufacture or distribution, and have caused injuries or deaths:

  • Car, trucks, motorcycles
  • Auto parts or components
  • Tires
  • Brakes
  • Construction materials
  • Household products, fixtures and furnishings
  • Contaminated foods
  • Electrical products
  • Medical devices
  • Prescription medications
  • Over-the-counter drugs
  • Implants and prostheses
  • Tools
  • Excessively hot drinks
  • Sports equipment
  • Lighters
  • Nursery products
  • Toys
  • Kitchen appliances
  • Baby cribs
  • Children furniture

Virtually any item with a defect could result in serious injuries to consumers. However, these are some of the most common products associated with lawsuits in the United States.

Defective Products Can Be Dangerous and Kill Children

Modern parents have thousands of products to choose from to help them in caring for their young children. Products are marketed to parents that are designed to keep children safe, comfortable and entertained. But many of these products have done the opposite and caused varying degrees of harm to the children they were designed for; some have died as a result.

Children are especially vulnerable to dangerous products. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), more than 79,000 children under the age of five were treated in emergency rooms for nursery product injuries in 2020. Sadly, nine children lost their lives in 2020 due to defective toys alone. Contact our Birmingham wrongful death lawyers if you have lost a loved one due to a defective product.

birmingham product liability lawyer

Which Nursery Products Are The Most Dangerous?

The CPSC lists the types of nursery products that have caused a large majority of infant and toddler deaths:

  • Cribs and crib mattresses
  • Bassinets and cradles
  • Playpens and play yards
  • Infant carriers
  • Car seat carriers
  • Baby baths and bath seats

These products are dangerous because of design flaws, manufacturing errors and “failure to warn” defects, where parents have not been put on notice of certain potential dangers inherent in use of the product.

Why You Need an Experienced Birmingham Product Liability Lawyer

Defective product cases are labor-intensive and complex. You’ll need to have an attorney with a substantial amount of experience in product liability litigation who is able to call upon experts to assist in proving and developing your case, including product safety specialists, industrial engineers and medical professionals to testify as to your damages. The right Birmingham product liability lawyer can collect evidence and create a compelling claim on your behalf. A specialized product defect attorney in Birmingham can take care of the expensive and difficult litigation parts of your case – whether it reaches an insurance settlement or has to go to trial – while you and your family concentrate on healing.

Get Help From a Birmingham Product Liability Lawyer at Drake Injury Lawyers

In Alabama, you’ll find the focused product liability experience that you require at Drake Injury Lawyers in Birmingham. With more than 25 years of total experience exclusively dedicated to personal injury and wrongful death law, our Birmingham product liability attorneys have the kind of in-depth knowledge, passion for justice and proven ability that will give you the best chance to recover a full and fair amount of compensation for your injury.

Call (205) 970-0800 today or contact us online for a free case consultation.


Drake Injury Lawyers
2 Perimeter Park S #510e
Birmingham, AL 35243
(205) 859-2236