Product Liability Lawyers in Oklahoma City

Were you hurt by a defective or dangerous product? Then you may be eligible for compensation for your medical costs and other losses in a product liability lawsuit.  Product manufacturers, designers, distributors, marketers, and retailers who sell defective products can sometimes be liable for your damages. Our Nix Patterson product liability attorneys may be able to help, so get in touch with us today to see if you have a case. Nix Patterson’s attorneys often represent product liability claim clients in Oklahoma City and other parts of the state.

Types of Product Liability

Negligence, strict liability, or breach of warranty might all be reasons for product liability cases in Oklahoma. For example, if the product was defective in its construction or design, the manufacturer, distributor, or marketer could be strictly liable for your injuries.

Also, in most product liability cases, whether the supplier or manufacturer showed care in its work with the product doesn’t matter. However, the person or entity could be liable if the defect leads to an injury.

You and your Oklahoma City product liability attorney only need to show that a defect was present, making it unreasonably dangerous and injuring you.

Why Do I Need a Product Liability Attorney?

A product liability lawyer could be beneficial if you bought or used a product that injured or made you sick. Your product liability attorney will generally perform the following critical tasks:

Determine the Potential Liability Party

Anyone selling, developing, or distributing a dangerous item could be liable for damages in Oklahoma if their product injured you. Depending on the case circumstances, some potentially liable parties could be the manufacturer, designer, QC specialist, engineer, retailer, or wholesaler. Your Oklahoma City attorney may also determine that more than one party or entity was at fault.

Collect Vital Evidence

If you have a case, your attorney also will collect evidence to prove liability, causation, and damages. A considerable amount of evidence that may bolster your case could be in the hands of the defendant. For instance, product blueprints could suggest a design or manufacturing flaw that led to your injuries or illness. Your lawyer can collect this evidence and, if necessary, file subpoenas to obtain any withheld evidence.

Help You Avoid Expensive Errors

You could have overpowering evidence to support a product liability claim, but you probably aren’t an attorney and may make a mistake that damages your case. For example, missing a doctor’s appointment or not following their treatment plan could cause an insurance company to dispute your injuries.

Injury victims might also say things to insurance companies or make social media posts undermining the case. But, again, your attorney will be involved from the start and can help you keep your case on track for a fair settlement or trial. To avoid mistakes, you should contact an attorney immediately after you are injured.

Fairly Value Your Case

Do you know what a product liability case is worth if you suffered a severe injury? Most likely not. Your product liability attorney will hire experts and use their own experience to help value your injuries and other losses so that you can seek the right amount of compensation.

Common Product Defects

Consumer products are supposed to be safely designed, manufactured, and sold, but that doesn’t always happen. Unfortunately, many organizations are more interested in making money than keeping customers safe, and their mistakes can often cause serious injuries. These issues cause some of the most common product defects:

Design Flaws

Some product defects stem from a design flaw. If the product has a defect in its design, it can cause severe injuries and even death. In some claims, the design defect could suggest the product manufacturer didn’t thoroughly test the product before it was sold. Or, the manufacturer may have ignored a critical design defect. Common design defects are:

• A toy for children contains a choking hazard
• Helmets that crack or break from a minor impact
• Products that melt too easily
• Car and truck mechanical defects, such as brakes or tires
• Unstable products, such as ladders, chairs, or tables that collapse because they were designed poorly

Manufacturing Flaws

Even if the product is designed property, it may not have been assembled or built properly. If an error or improper process is used when the product is made, it can cause a hazardous defect. Many product liability lawsuits involve manufacturing defects, and unlike many personal injury claims, these legal actions usually don’t require the plaintiff to prove the manufacturer was negligent. This means the product manufacturer doesn’t have to be negligent or malicious to be found liable in a lawsuit. Some common manufacturing defects are:

• Improperly attached or produced parts
• Incorrectly installed circuits
• Incorrectly made materials
• Improper, loose, or defective fasteners and bolts

Marketing Mistakes

When a company does not market a product with a priority on consumer safety, this is known as a product marketing defect. In many cases, the manufacturer will be held strictly liable for any damages caused to you. Some of the most frequent marketing defects include:

• False claims
• Improper user instructions
• Not warning consumers of known risks
• Marketing materials that promote improper use
• Incorrect warning labels

Who Is Eligible to Sue?

In Oklahoma, a product liability lawsuit intends to provide fair compensation to the consumer hurt by the product. But this doesn’t mean you must have bought the product yourself; the injured party could be anyone who utilized the product. For example, this could be someone who used a product owned by an employer or even one that was a gift.

In Oklahoma, bystanders who are hurt because of a product defect also can sue. Whoever is injured may sue the manufacturer, designer, marketer, processor, assembler, or other entity involved with the product. The state’s laws make it clear that any injured party in a product liability claim can file a suit for damages.

You also can sue for damages in Oklahoma if you were hurt because you didn’t know the product’s dangers. Some marketers are irresponsible and don’t provide adequate warnings of product dangers. In addition, the product packaging material could contain inadequate notices that contributed to your injuries.

Keep in mind, you only have a limited time to file a product liability claim. The statute of limitations in Oklahoma is just two years from the date of the injury. So, you should contact your Oklahoma product liability attorney immediately to meet this timeframe.

Contact the Oklahoma City Product Liability Lawyers at Nix Patterson Today

If a defective product hurts you or someone you love, you don’t have to suffer the losses alone. Get in touch with Nix Patterson’s product liability attorneys in Oklahoma City today for a complimentary consultation to determine if you have a case.