5 Steps for NJ Residents to Take When Injured By Defective Products
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Every year, defective products cause 29.4 million injuries across the United States. A defective product injury occurs when you are using the product normally, are following that product’s safety guidelines, and due to shoddy workmanship, poor materials quality, or some other defect the product malfunctions and causes a major injury.
These injuries can include burns, cuts, injuries from falls, crushed extremities, illnesses from defective food products, and more. No matter what kind of injury you sustain, if you want to win your defective product personal injury case the next steps are all going to be the same.
#1) Secure the Evidence
If you’re severely injured you might need to get help from a family member or a friend. However, it is absolutely vital that you preserve as much evidence as you have access to.
This means you are never going to throw the defective product away. It is evidence! Secure it and store it. You also want to store any packaging and instructions that came with the product, as well as your receipts or bank records which show that you are the rightful owner of that product.
#2) Get Medical Attention
Obviously you want to do this just for your own personal health and safety, but there’s another important reason why you’re going to want to get medical attention right away.
The injury you sustain is going to form the bulk of your financial losses and thus the bulk of what’s compensatable in a personal injury case. If you delay your medical treatment or fail to follow the doctor’s instructions you will blur the lines of causality.
You want your attorney to be able to draw a clear line from whatever happened with that product straight through to the injury you sustained. You don’t want to leave any doubt. You also don’t want to open yourself up to any accusations that you failed to mitigate your losses or exacerbated your own injuries by failing to seek care immediately.
Keep all documents related to your care from your discharge documents to your bill, and do exactly what the doctor tells you to do.
#3) Take Photographs
Photograph the product exactly as it looked when something went wrong. Photograph your injuries.
Photograph the location where you sustained your injuries, and the local conditions at that time.
Take far more photographs than you think you are going to need.
#4) Document Your Recovery
Another important component of your personal injury case will be the degree to which your case impacts your life. This information will be a vital part of the pain and suffering award you eventually receive.
Therefore it is important to document both the impact the injury is having on your life and what happens as you recover so this evidence can be used to help you as the case progresses.
#5) Contact an Attorney
The earlier you involve a personal injury attorney in your case the more successful your case is likely to be. You can have your attorney contact the manufacturer on your behalf, deal with their insurance company on your behalf, and otherwise manage the case for you. Your attorney will also uncover other responsible parties, such as the retailer, and will ensure that they are also held accountable for your injuries.
Taking this step keeps you from making major mistakes which could devalue your case.
If you’ve been injured by a defective product, don’t wait. Contact our office to schedule a free case review today.
See also:
Which Personal Injury Cases Go to Trial
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Every year, defective products cause 29.4 million injuries across the United States. A defective product injury occurs when you are using the product normally, are following that product’s safety guidelines, and due to shoddy workmanship, poor materials quality, or some other defect the product malfunctions and causes a major injury.
These injuries can include burns, cuts, injuries from falls, crushed extremities, illnesses from defective food products, and more. No matter what kind of injury you sustain, if you want to win your defective product personal injury case the next steps are all going to be the same.
#1) Secure the Evidence
If you’re severely injured you might need to get help from a family member or a friend. However, it is absolutely vital that you preserve as much evidence as you have access to.
This means you are never going to throw the defective product away. It is evidence! Secure it and store it. You also want to store any packaging and instructions that came with the product, as well as your receipts or bank records which show that you are the rightful owner of that product.
#2) Get Medical Attention
Obviously you want to do this just for your own personal health and safety, but there’s another important reason why you’re going to want to get medical attention right away.
The injury you sustain is going to form the bulk of your financial losses and thus the bulk of what’s compensatable in a personal injury case. If you delay your medical treatment or fail to follow the doctor’s instructions you will blur the lines of causality.
You want your attorney to be able to draw a clear line from whatever happened with that product straight through to the injury you sustained. You don’t want to leave any doubt. You also don’t want to open yourself up to any accusations that you failed to mitigate your losses or exacerbated your own injuries by failing to seek care immediately.
Keep all documents related to your care from your discharge documents to your bill, and do exactly what the doctor tells you to do.
#3) Take Photographs
Photograph the product exactly as it looked when something went wrong. Photograph your injuries.
Photograph the location where you sustained your injuries, and the local conditions at that time.
Take far more photographs than you think you are going to need.
#4) Document Your Recovery
Another important component of your personal injury case will be the degree to which your case impacts your life. This information will be a vital part of the pain and suffering award you eventually receive.
Therefore it is important to document both the impact the injury is having on your life and what happens as you recover so this evidence can be used to help you as the case progresses.
#5) Contact an Attorney
The earlier you involve a personal injury attorney in your case the more successful your case is likely to be. You can have your attorney contact the manufacturer on your behalf, deal with their insurance company on your behalf, and otherwise manage the case for you. Your attorney will also uncover other responsible parties, such as the retailer, and will ensure that they are also held accountable for your injuries.
Taking this step keeps you from making major mistakes which could devalue your case.
If you’ve been injured by a defective product, don’t wait. Contact our office to schedule a free case review today.
See also:
Which Personal Injury Cases Go to Trial