There are a series of systems in place that are meant to protect consumers from dangerous products. Ample testing and approvals are required for a variety of industries.
This has created an environment where consumers have a general trust for the products they are able to purchase in stores or on the internet. We assume that these products are safe. They wouldn’t be able to make it to market if they didn’t meet adequate safety standards, right?
Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case. Food, furniture, pharmaceuticals, and more have harmed people over the years through faulty production or improper design.
Our safety protocols ensure many of our purchases are safe for use, but the sheer volume of products means even a small percentage of faulty products can have a noticeable impact.
Confusion is a frequent response to being injured by a seemingly innocuous product. It can be difficult to know how to proceed in a situation you didn’t know was possible.
So what should you do if you’ve been injured by a product?
Here are the steps you should take after being injured by a defective product:
- See a Doctor
- Keep the Defective Product
- Research the Product
- Contact a Product Injury Attorney
- Gather Documentation
- Be Prepared For a Long Process
1. See a Doctor
The most important aspect of this whole situation is your well being. The absolute first thing you need to do is take care of your health.
Call your doctor immediately, and if you can’t get in soon enough, go to the hospital. There will be plenty of time to address the legalities of the situation later on. The first priority must always be your personal health.
The severity of injuries that come as a result of faulty products can vary from minor inconveniences to drastic situations with potential long-term consequences. Take appropriate measures to address your condition and reduce the likelihood of long-lasting effects.
2. Keep the Defective Product
Don’t discard the defective product unless it continues to pose a danger. An overheating electrical appliance can simply be unplugged and placed somewhere safe. A harmful medication can be labeled as such and placed in an area where it won’t be confused with other medications.
This defective product is going to be a potential piece of evidence should you choose to enlist the help of a product injury attorney for a potential mass tort lawsuit. Hang onto whatever caused you harm just in case an inspection of the product is necessary to prove that user error wasn’t the cause of the issue.
3. Research the Product
After you’ve seen a medical professional and have your health under control, look into the product with an internet search.
Product recalls don’t always get the proper level of attention they need to reach people that are still using it. And if the product has not been recalled, try to find instances of other people using it and experiencing the same outcome as you.
Any patterns that can be seen relating the product to a negative and potentially harmful outcome can indicate a potential for a mass tort lawsuit.
For example, a weight loss drug called Belviq and Belviq XR have been linked to certain types of cancer. Learn more about the potential lawsuit here.
4. Contact a Product Injury Attorney
A product injury attorney will have the prerequisite knowledge to discern between a potential case and an unfortunate accident. Bart Durham Injury Law offers free consultations so you can get the information you need without any associated risk.
Product injury cases are often quite convoluted. There’s a lot of information to compile and analyze. Enlisting the help of a product injury lawyer is the only way to pursue a mass tort lawsuit in response to an injury sustained from a defective product.
5. Gather Documentation
A chain of custody will need to be established in order to discern who is to blame for the defective product. It could relate to any step in the process from manufacturing to sales.
Find any information you can relating to where and when you purchased your product. What shape was it in when you bought it? Was it used according to the included instructions?
You should also seek any documents relating to what happened after the product was used. This includes medical records or anything else that shows how the product affected you such as pictures of your injuries.
6. Be Prepared For a Long Process
Mass tort lawsuits relating to defective products or recalls are not a quick process. It can take a long time between initiating the proceedings and the eventual conclusion. Prepare yourself for a long period of time before the possibility of a settlement is even discussed.
Bart Durham Injury Law has provided assistance in many mass tort lawsuits and other product injury cases over the years. Have you been harmed by a product you thought to be perfectly safe?
