When you purchase a product from a trusted retailer or manufacturer, you trust that it is safe to use. However, accidents involving purchased products occur every day, causing serious injuries and wrongful deaths. If you suffered injuries due to a product malfunction or unsafe design, you can receive financial compensation under Florida’s product liability laws.
If you or a loved one suffered injuries or illnesses due to an unsafe product in Tampa, Florida, choose our personal injury lawyers to represent your case. Our product liability attorneys will fight tenaciously to recover the maximum potential compensation for your losses. Our clients choose Fiol & Morros Law Group for our successful track record, our commitment to open communication, and affordable services.
- We can provide personal attention to each out of our clients due to our smaller firm size.
- We have staff available to answer your call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
- We offer our services on a contingency fee basis. If we do not secure a settlement on your behalf, you do not pay any legal fees.
- We offer bilingual services in both English and Spanish for maximum accessibility.
How Can I Prove a Defective Product Injury?
After a defective product injury, take the following steps:
- Seek medical support. Tell the attending physician about what happened and keep all records of your visit to the care facility. In a product liability claim, you may obtain compensation to cover all medical expenses, including the cost of transportation, prescriptions, and rehabilitation therapy.
- Do not throw away the product. Even if the product was irreparably damaged during the incident, take pictures of the product and keep it in a secure location. The physical evidence will help our team understand the defect or dangerous nature of the product and prove your claim.
- Do not assume that a disclaimer or warning will prevent you from taking action. Many brands include warnings and disclaimers to protect themselves in liability claims, but these warnings do not always eliminate liability.
- Talk to a product liability attorney. If your injury was severe, keeps you out of work for a long period of time, causes chronic pain, or results in death, reach out to a product liability attorney. An attorney will help you understand your legal options and guide you through the claims process.
After your initial consultation at Fiol & Morros Law Group, a trial attorney will begin building your case. To hold a manufacturer, retailer, or distributor responsible for your injuries, we will:
- Evaluate all your losses. To file a claim, we must prove that your injury and/or losses were the proximal result of the product defect. We will consider losses including the injury itself, time out of work, future work capabilities, pain and suffering, and loss of quality of life.
- Determine the defect or product hazard. Our firm has access to a network of experts who will help us determine if the design, manufacturing process, or marketing approach resulted in your injury or illness.
- Investigate the situation. To hold a company liable for your injuries, we must also prove that you were using the product in a reasonable manner. We will help you understand the nuances of this stipulation so we can build a strong claim for your losses.
Product manufacturers, distributors, and retailers have incredible resources at their disposal. Many expect product liability claims, and take preventive measures to protect themselves. At Fiol & Morros Law Group, we have the experience and resources to go toe-to-toe with even the largest product brands. You can trust us to protect your rights in the state of Florida.
Product Liability Laws in Florida
Under Florida law, product manufacturers must adhere to a strict liability standard. Even if the product was not meant to be dangerous, any party in the line of distribution can face legal consequences for designing, manufacturing, marketing, assembling, or selling a defective product. You can hold a manufacturer, retailer, or distributor liable in a defective product claim.
You can hold a party liable for a defective of dangerous product in one of three ways.
- If a product’s defective design led to your injuries, you can hold the manufacturer liable. Your attorney will have to prove that the manufacturer intended to design the product in its current form and that the intended design was unreasonably dangerous, leading to your injuries. Courts will use a consumer-expectation test to test the product’s safety level.
- If an error in the manufacturing process led to your injuries, you can file a claim against the manufacturer for manufacturing defects. Your attorney will have to prove that your particular product left the line defective and that defect caused your injuries.
- If the company marketed the product as safe and did not include proper warnings, you can file a claim for a marketing defect. Your attorney will have to prove that you could have avoided your injuries if the company provided adequate warning.
You have four years from the date of your injury to file a product liability lawsuit in Florida civil court. If the product caused wrongful death, you have two years from the date of death to file the lawsuit.
Potential Damages in Product Liability Cases
Injuries from a defective product can lead to thousands of dollars in medical expenses, lost wages, and other irreversible damages, such as emotional trauma. When you file a product liability lawsuit, you can recover financial compensation to recover from these losses.
- Past and future medical expenses
- Permanent disability
- Lost wages or profits
- Property damage
- Pain and suffering
What are Common Types of Defective Products?
Certain products can lead to higher rates of injuries than others. Medical devices and pharmaceuticals can cause significant risks to sick and injured patients if the products have defects. Automobile manufacturers can also leave defects in the car design, which can lead to devastating consequences if something goes wrong while you are driving.
Products with chemicals and other dangerous materials can lead to the development of cancer and other diseases due to toxic substances. Asbestos and lead are common toxic substances found in older products that led to illnesses in the past. In addition, industrial equipment can lead to significant injuries if someone operates it on the job and a defect occurs.
Defective Household Products
Look around your home. Unless you made the product yourself, manufactured products likely surround you. Most products are safe and will never malfunction or cause serious injuries. Some, however, will unexpectedly contribute to burns, electrical shocks, lacerations, head trauma, suffocation, or other serious injuries. Some of these preventable incidents will change someone’s quality of life, while others will take that life away.
If a treadmill glitches, ramping up to top speed and throwing you off; a dryer catches on fire; or plugging a television into the wall sends an electrical charge through someone, you may want to speak to a product liability attorney in Tampa about filing a claim against the manufacturer. These incidents should never occur under typical and reasonable product use.
When clients come to Fiol & Morros Law Group with accounts of defective household products, we begin work right away. To protect your right to file a claim, never throw away a defective product after it causes an injury. Keep it, receipts (if available), and documentation for the investigation. Without the product itself, proving liability becomes more difficult.
If you altered the product in any way or used it in an unintended manner, you could lose your right to file a product liability claim. Always consult with an attorney before making a decision about taking action. The severity of the injury, the situation, and the product itself will all affect your ability to seek action against those responsible.
Children’s Products
Children’s products including toys, soaps and lotions, cribs, car seats, and sippy cups that cause harm can put your child at risk of immediate and long term danger. In recent years, the media covered hoverboard toys, some sippy cups, drawers, and several cribs that contributed to child injuries or death.
All product manufacturers must consider the reasonable level of safety for the end user – not just the average adult. For children’s products, this means using recognized safe materials and testing products to determine the risks of choking, burns, suffocation, and more. When product designers and manufacturers fail to do their due diligence before placing a product on the market, they face strict liability for resulting damages.
If your child suffered a preventable injury or illness as the result of a product, come to the product liability attorneys at Fiol & Morros Law Group in Tampa, FL. Since 2002, our dedicated attorneys have fought relentlessly to protect the rights of parents and children harmed in defective product cases. We know the devastation that often comes with child injuries, and we will pursue your claim to the full extent of the law. Manufacturers that cut corners out of greed or carelessness must pay for their actions.
A civil claim can provide financial compensation as well as a sense of justice. After experiencing a defective children’s product injury, contact us for a free case evaluation. We will help you find closure, begin the path to recovery, and fight to prevent other families from enduring the same heartache and pain.
Our Approach to Product Liability
At Fiol & Morros Law Group, our highly trained defective products attorneys, paralegals, and assistants have dedicated their careers to fighting for those injured in preventable incidents. In product liability cases, manufacturers, sellers, and distributors have no excuse for allowing a dangerous or defective product on store shelves. We pursue these cases relentlessly to obtain justice for our clients and their families.
You can contact our office in Tampa, FL around the clock, any day of the week, and speak with a qualified legal professional about your case. We’re here to help you make an informed decision about pursuing a claim.
As your legal representatives, our team can meet you in the hospital or at home, if needed. We can help you find qualified medical support, negotiate with insurers, and help you understand employment issues as you recuperate. Our job is to ensure you reach maximum physical, financial, and emotional recovery after preventable incidents. At Fiol & Morros Law Group, our attorneys are friendly, accessible, and experienced. Count on us to walk you through every step of the legal process for peace of mind and justice.
Contact a Tampa Product Liability Attorney
At Fiol & Morros Law Group, we’re a boutique firm with a large law mentality. We accept a limited number of cases each year so we can focus on providing each client with our full attention. If you, your child, or another loved one suffered an injury in a defective product incident, don’t wait to reach out for help. In Florida, you must file a product liability claim within four years of discovering the injury. After that time, you may lose your ability to pursue legal action.
Our firm operates on a contingency fee basis. Unless and until we secure compensation for you, you will not owe any attorney fees. When you contact us for a free case evaluation, we’ll help you understand more about our fee structure and the timeline for pursuing a claim. For product liability claims in Tampa, FL, contact the product liability attorneys at Fiol & Morros Law Group.