Hurt by a product that failed the way it never should have? You may have a defective product claim.
These cases hold the companies behind a dangerous product accountable, from the manufacturer down to the parts supplier. Senior attorney Stephen D. Phillips answers the questions we hear most.
What Is a Defective Product Liability Claim?
“A defective product liability claim is one we bring against the manufacturer, distributor, or component part manufacturer of a defective product. For example, if a gas-powered tool blows up and injures someone, the claim can include anyone who designed or handled that product.”
What Kinds of Products Count?
“Defective product claims can range from industrial products used in factories to consumer products people use around the household.”
If a product can be built and sold to the public, it can be the basis of a claim when it’s made or designed unsafely.
Who Can Be Held Liable?
“The law allows a claim against the manufacturer, the designer, the component part makers, and the distributors of a defective product.”
That matters, because the company that sold you the product isn’t always the one that caused the defect. Illinois lets you pursue everyone in the chain that put the dangerous product on the market.
How Do You Prove a Defective Product Case?
“The first thing a qualified lawyer does is take possession and control of the alleged defective product. Without the product, it can be difficult to prove the claim. From there we look at the design, the manufacture, and the warnings on the product.”
This is the single most important step you can take. Do not throw the product away, return it, or let anyone repair it. Our Chicago product liability lawyers preserve it as evidence before anything can happen to it.
What Compensation Can You Recover?
“The elements of damage in a defective product claim are past and future medical bills, past and future lost wages, and disability, disfigurement, pain and suffering, and mental anguish, both past and future if the injury is permanent.”
What About Dangerous Drugs?
“Pharmaceutical and drug cases we look at very carefully, because it’s inevitable that many drugs have possible side effects. The question becomes whether there’s a side effect that wasn’t warned against, or that causes damage beyond what they told people could happen.”
A known, disclosed side effect is one thing. A hidden risk the maker failed to warn you about is another. That second situation is where a defective drug claim often begins.
Talk to a Chicago Product Liability Lawyer
If a product injured you, the company that made it is counting on you not to push back. You can. Let us look at what happened.
Call (312) 346-4262 for a free consultation. You pay nothing unless we win.
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes a product “defective” under Illinois law?
Generally one of three problems: a design that’s unsafe from the start, a manufacturing error that made your specific unit dangerous, or a failure to warn you about a known risk.
Who can I sue for a defective product?
Anyone in the chain that brought it to market, from the manufacturer that built it down to the distributor that sold it. A lawyer identifies which of them is responsible.
What should I do with the product after I’m hurt?
Keep it, exactly as it is. Don’t repair it, return it, or throw it out. The product itself is usually the most important piece of evidence in the case.
