New Mexico Product Liability Lawyers

Over 12 million people receive emergency medical treatment for product-related injuries each year. These injury victims never anticipated that they would be harmed by a trusted product maker. If you have been harmed by a defective product, you may be entitled to substantial financial compensation. In fact, the average product liability jury award in 2020 neared $2.5 million.

The product liability attorneys at Nix Patterson know how to get to the bottom of a product liability case, and we can work with expert witnesses to prove your case. Call us today to schedule a free initial consultation.

What Is Product Liability Law?

The manufacturer or seller of a product owes you certain duties when they take part in the process that places the products into your hands. They must provide you with a safe product. If what they have made or sold you caused injuries, you may be able to file a lawsuit against them to seek financial compensation. Product liability law is the legal framework that governs the cases. You may be entitled to money when you can prove that the product was defective or that anyone involved in the process of making or selling the product was negligent.

Product liability lawsuits are highly contested, so you need an experienced New Mexico attorney to handle your case and fight for you.

Examples of Defective Products

Product liability lawsuits cover a broad spectrum of potential products. Some examples of defective products based on recent cases include:

• Agricultural products: Monsanto/Bayer has paid billions of dollars in compensation because their weed killer Roundup contains a carcinogen.
• Hernia mesh: There have been hundreds of thousands of lawsuits filed against makers of hernia mesh because the product either disintegrates or shifts in the body, causing intense pain.
• Helicopter parts: A family won $116 million in a verdict against three Aviation companies when defective helicopter parts contributed to an accident that killed a tourist and a sightseeing flight.
• Tobacco: Families continue to win verdicts against tobacco companies when their loved ones die from lung cancer, and the business hid the risks of their product.

Product Defects That Can Entitle You to Compensation

There are three product defects that could warrant financial compensation if you were able to prove them. They are:

• Design defects: The design of the product made it unreasonably dangerous for its intended use. Under New Mexico law, you must prove that you would not have been injured (or as badly harmed) under a safer alternative design.
• Manufacturing defects: Here, the design was safe, but something went wrong in the manufacturing process that made the product unreasonably dangerous for its intended use.
• Marketing defects: The defendant knew or should have known that the product was defective, yet they failed to issue a warning or remedy the defect while continuing to sell the product.

If you can prove a product defect, the defendant would be strictly liable for your injuries. Alternatively, your lawyer would also argue that the defendant was negligent in the manufacture or sale of the product. A product liability lawsuit would also include grounds that the defendant violated one of a number of warranties that they make when they sell a product under New Mexico’s common law.

Proving a Product Liability Claim

In most cases, you could win a product liability lawsuit by proving a defect. Then, the defendant would be strictly liable for the damages that you have suffered. Strict liability does not necessarily mean that the defendant is automatically liable. It does mean that the burden of proof then shifts to the defendant to argue a defense. If they are not able to find a suitable defense and prove it, then they would be obligated to compensate you.

Your attorney would use a combination of expert witness testimony and documentary evidence to prove that the product was defective. Alternatively, your lawyer could argue legal theories of why the defendant was negligent in the manufacturing and sale of the product that injured you.

Time Limits to File a Defective Products Lawsuit

New Mexico law imposes a statute of limitations on the filing of product liability lawsuits. Under New Mexico statutes, you have three years from the date that you were injured or discovered your injury to file a lawsuit. The statute of limitations is a very strict deadline, and missing it could mean the absolute end of your product liability lawsuit. In some cases, whether you should have known of an injury (and when the time clock begins to tick) is the key issue when the defendant files a motion to dismiss on the grounds that you missed the statute of limitations.

When you hire a product liability lawyer, they will track the relevant deadlines in your case, so you are in no danger of missing them. Your product liability attorney will also draft motions opposing the defendant’s efforts to dismiss the case when they claim that the statute of limitations has passed.

Compensation for Defective Products

Your compensation for a defective product injury can be considerable. After all, you are dealing with deep-pocketed corporate defendants, and you have likely been seriously injured by the product. The combination of the two can result in a large check if you win your case or if the defendant settles the case.

Your product liability lawsuit compensation can include the following:

• Medical expenses
• Lost wages
• Pain and suffering
• Scarring and disfigurement
• Loss of enjoyment of life
• Embarrassment and humiliation

If you take your case to court and you win at trial, you may receive punitive damages for a product liability injury. Your chances of being awarded punitive damages increase when your product liability attorney is able to uncover damaging evidence in the discovery phase of the trial. In some cases, you may even get your hands on emails that show that the company knew that the product they were selling was dangerous, and they never warned the public or pulled the product from the market.

The Role of Expert Witnesses in a Product Liability Lawsuit

Expert witnesses are a prominent part of any product liability case. After all, you need to show exactly how the product was defective to hold the defendant strictly liable for your injuries. An expert witness would analyze and review the product and give their own opinion about how the product actually worked and how it should have performed.

Your product liability lawyer should not just work with any expert witness. Oftentimes, whether expert witness testimony is admissible in court is the biggest battle of your case. An expert witness must be qualified to testify, and they must use scientifically sound methods to reach their conclusions. A court will hear challenges to any party’s expert witness in a proceeding called a Daubert hearing. 

If your expert witness is disqualified, it could mean the end of your case.

This means your product liability lawyer should use caution and diligence in selecting the relevant experts for your case. The success of your lawsuit depends on it. The attorneys at Nix Patterson have access to a large roster of expert witnesses due to our size and strength as a leading national litigation law firm.

How to Choose a Product Liability Lawyer

You will be working with your product liability attorney for a long time to come. Your financial future may depend on the results that they are able to obtain in your case. You are relying on a product liability attorney to use their experience and knowledge to obtain the best possible legal result for you. Thus, it is essential that you choose carefully before you pick a lawyer. It can be difficult to change attorneys in the middle of your case, although it is possible.

Carefully review the attorney’s experience and background and do everything you can to learn more about them when you speak with them. Also, pay close attention to how they relate to you during your free initial consultation. Since it costs nothing to speak with a product liability lawyer, you should take advantage of that opportunity and schedule initial consultations with as many as necessary to find the attorney who fits best for your case.

What to Expect in a Product Liability Lawsuit

A product liability lawsuit is almost always a lengthy legal process. The defendant will likely battle your case for as long as possible until the jury issues a decision or they reach a settlement agreement. Product liability lawsuits can take years from start to finish, so you must be patient while your attorney works for the best possible result.

Here are some of the steps in a product liability lawsuit:

• Complaint
• Answer
• Motions to Dismiss
• Discovery
• Trial
• Settlement Negotiations

Many product liability lawsuits involve hundreds or thousands of similar cases that are filed against the defendant. The individual harms in these cases are diverse, so they cannot be tried as part of a class action lawsuit.

That said, there are some efficiencies in the litigation process. Federal law allows for these cases to be somewhat combined in multidistrict litigation. The cases would proceed together through the discovery process to allow for more efficiencies. The joint efforts of many plaintiffs and their attorneys could help you build a strong case through evidence that you are able to discover. Then, a handful of bellwether cases would be tried in front of a jury first to see the strengths and weaknesses in some of the cases. If the defendant loses some of the bellwether cases, they may be more likely to settle all lawsuits.

You also have the option of taking your case to state court since product liability lawsuits proceed under state law theories. Your product liability attorney will give you their best legal advice on the proper form for your lawsuit.

Contact a New Mexico Product Liability Attorney Today

If you or a loved one has been injured by a defective product, reach out to an experienced New Mexico product liability lawyer to represent you in the legal process. Product liability lawsuits are hard-fought and contentious,  and you need an attorney fighting for you at every step of the way. 

Contact the dedicated litigation attorneys at Nix Patterson to learn more about your legal rights and whether you may be able to file a lawsuit. You can schedule a free initial consultation with one of our attorneys by calling us today at 512-328-5333.