Illinois Product Liability Lawyers
Our Illinois product liability lawyers at The Cates Law Firm, LLC have helped numerous injured people to seek justice and accountability for their product-related injuries. Contact us for a free consultation to learn what we can do for you.
When you buy products, you expect them to work the way that the manufacturer or seller promised. When they don’t work and the defect causes you harm, you may be able to recover compensation through a product liability lawsuit.
Through a successful product liability case, you may be able to obtain compensation for injuries and losses including:
- Disability
- Disfigurement
- Loss of income
- Loss of quality of life or loss of a normal life
- Medical expenses
- Pain and suffering
- Punitive damages
We understand the many ways that a serious product-related injury can affect your life and your family. That’s why our Illinois product liability lawyers at The Cates Law Firm, LLC are dedicated to providing you personalized representation from attorneys you can trust. We’ll fight to get the best possible outcome for your case and to help you on the path to recovery from your injury.
What is Product Liability?
Product Liability refers to a field of law that allows victims injured by dangerous or defective products to sue for compensation for their injuries and losses. Generally, product liability lawsuits are brought against the makers, sellers, and distributors of the dangerous and/or defective products, such as the manufacturers of prescription drugs or medical devices.
The term “product” is very liberally construed. A case involving product liability can involve:
- Children’s toys such as asbestos-containing CSI Crime Scene toys, defective glasses recalled from McDonalds
- Common household products
- Defective automobile parts such as airbags, seatbelts, headrests, tires, child restraint seats, gas tanks, accelerators, brakes, and crumple components
- Defective vehicles, including cars, motorcycles, and trucks
- Farm equipment such as tractors, harvesters, and silos
- Machines and industrial equipment such as rollers, presses, and punchers
- Medical devices such as transvaginal mesh, IVC filters, Zimmer hip implants
- Prescription and over-the-counter medications such as Accutane, Avandia, Byetta, Januvia, Pradaxa, Risperdal, Seroquel, Taxotere, Vioxx, Yaz, and Zicam
- Recreational vehicles including four wheelers, dirt bikes, and bicycles
- Toxic chemicals such as asbestos, Benzene, arsenic, and lead
- Tools such as power drills, rotary saws, and circular saws
The above is not meant to be an all-inclusive list. It is merely meant to illustrate the variety of items that are considered “products” and that may be the source of an injury for which the designers, manufacturers, sellers, and/or distributors are liable.
Types of Product Defects
In general, there are three ways a product can be defective for purposes of a product liability case. Those include:
- Manufacturing Defect — This type of defect involves some kind of mistake in the process of making or assembling the product that results in the product being hazardous for use. For example, if a product is made without a key component that means it’s likely to break or catch fire and cause injuries, it may be considered to have a manufacturing defect.
- Design Defect — If a product is dangerous to the user when used as intended and manufactured properly, it may be considered to have a design defect. An example of a design defect might include failing to design a piece of industrial equipment with a safety switch.
- Warning Defect — A product also may be considered defective if it might be dangerous in a way that isn’t obvious to a user. If the product should have a warning label or instructions for using the product safely but doesn’t, then it may be considered to have a warning defect. An example might include failing to warn of serious side effects or complications from the use of a prescription drug.
The circumstances of each product injury case is unique, and your injury may involve just one type of defect or more. Our personal injury lawyers can listen to your story and explain the basis for your possible product liability case and your options for compensation.
Contact us today
Our attorneys have extensive experience dealing with product liability claims in Illinois and throughout the United States. We are familiar with the laws that will enable you to recover compensation for your losses. We will help you understand the law and what kind of claim may benefit you most.
Contact us today at 618-277-3644 to let us begin working for you.Product Liability Theories
There are various legal theories which can be used to support a product liability lawsuit. The most common include:
- Negligence — If a manufacturer, designer, distributor, owner, or seller acted unreasonably, or failed to act reasonably, in designing, making, or selling the product, they may be liable for injuries to users because of negligence. Examples of these types of cases include tractor manufacturers being held responsible for crush injuries after failing to install roll bars, and car manufacturers being held responsible for placing a fuel tank improperly such that a car hit from behind could catch fire or explode.
- Strict Liability — Some products may be so dangerous that a manufacturer, designer, distributor, owner, or seller might be liable for injuries even if they weren’t negligent. As an example, a restaurant that sells coffee hotter than most other restaurants may be strictly liable for injuries sustained if that coffee spills on a customer when the customer drinks it in a typical fashion. The restaurant should have known of the risks of serving extremely hot coffee, regardless of whether employees were negligent or reckless.
- Failure to Warn — In those instances where an owner, designer, manufacturer, distributor, or seller is producing a dangerous product and fails to warn purchasers, users, operators, or others of the product’s dangerous nature, they can be held liable. These types of cases are often brought against manufacturers of industrial machines that came without warnings as to proper use of the products. They have also been brought against manufacturers and sellers of asbestos for failing to warn the users of asbestos that exposure to asbestos fibers can cause mesothelioma, despite the fact that they knew of the dangers.
The laws related to the various theories of product liability can be incredibly complex. Our product injury lawyers can assist you in determining whether or not you have a case and how to pursue action against the manufacturer, designer, or seller of a product that caused you harm.
How Our Belleville Product Liability Lawyers at The Cates Law Firm, LLC Can Help
Product liability cases can involve complicated legal principles, technical details, and mountains of evidence. Your success relies on seeking the help of a qualified team of attorneys who have the experience and resources to tackle this kind of litigation.
Our Illinois product liability lawyers at The Cates Law Firm, LLC are prepared to represent you in even the most complex product liability cases. We handle various types of product injury cases, including:
- Dangerous Prescription Drugs
- Defective Household Products
- Defective Medical Devices
- Defective Tools & Heavy Machinery
- Defective Vehicles
- Explosive E-Cigarettes
- Other types of product defects
We understand what it’s like for you to be seriously injured because you trusted a product to be safe. We’re committed to helping you seek justice and accountability for your injuries and to obtain the maximum available compensation that can aid your recovery.
If you or your friend or family member has been seriously injured, or a loved one was killed, as a result of an injury due to a dangerous or defective product, or a failure to warn about a product’s dangers, we may be able to help. Please call us today at 618-277-3644 or contact us online to learn why you should hire The Cates Law Firm, LLC for your product injury case.
Providing experienced representation throughout Illinois, our office is conveniently located in Swansea. Serving the surrounding communities, including but not limited to Belleville, Carbondale, Chester, East St. Louis, Edwardsville, Granite City, St. Louis, Waterloo and Madison County, Monroe County and Randolph County.