Defective Products Lawyer in Ashland, MO.

Defective Products Lawyer in Ashland, MO. If you or a family member sustained an injury because of a dangerous product, get in touch with a Burger law defective products lawyer in Ashland, MO right away at (314) 500-HURT or fill out our online form for a complimentary consultation.

Imagine what your daily like looks like: You may have put on some lotion or hair gel in the morning, take a prescription, go to school or work on a bus, sit at in a chair or work around heavy machinery, and/or use your android throughout the day. You may use lawnmowers on the weekend. You may even have a knee replacement or other medical implant. It seems we're always using or surrounded by some sort of product that has gone through various stages of design and production before it reaches the market. When there is a mistake in the stream of commerce and a product becomes hazardous, it can have a catastrophic impact on Ashland, MO individuals and families. When that happens to you, you need the experienced and devoted legal services of Burger Law's defective products lawyer team to stand in your corner and win you the best possible financial recovery you are owed.

In our 30 years of negotiation, litigation and trial experience, we have delivered our clients in Ashland and throughout Missouri in excess of $170 million. Our initial consultations are no-cost, no-obligation, so there's no risk in having us look over your claim. Call a defective products lawyer in Ashland, MO today at (314) 500-HURT.

If you were hurt by a dangerous product in Ashland, MO, find out how much your claim may be worth by filling out our complimentary personal injury calculator.



Below are some useful links and FAQS from your Burger Law defective products injury lawyer in Ashland, MO:

• FDA Recall List and Safety Alerts
• Consumer Products Safety Commission Recall List
• U.S. Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Recall List
• Recalls.Gov
• What to Do if You're Injured by a Dangerous Product?
• Can I Sue a Company if Their Product Gave Me Cancer?
• Can I Sue for a Defective Car Part if it Caused My Accident?

How Common Are Defective Products in Ashland, MO?

The Consumer Product Safety Commission states that dangerous products are responsible for more than 29 million injuries and 21,000 fatalities annually.

Based on data from the Insurance Information Institute, in 2019 the mean average that juries awarded plaintiffs in product liability claims was over $7 million, while the median was $2 million. That speaks to the incredible destruction that can be caused when manufacturers and vendors do not follow proper safety measures.

If you were one of the many people injured by a faulty product, call a Burger Law defective products lawyer in Ashland, MO for compassionate, devoted and knowledgeable support and legal advocacy.

How Defective Products Claims Work in Ashland, MO

According to Missouri Revised Statute §537.760, you and your Ashland, MO defective products lawyer can file a "strict liability" suit if three factors are met:

1. The person was part of the product's design, manufacture, distribution and sale.
2. The product was used in a manner rationally foreseen.
3. One or both of the following:
   1. The product was in a faulty condition that was unreasonably dangerous when the product was sold and your injuries are a direct result of that defect, and/or
   2. The manufacturer or distributor failed to warn on the products packaging of an inherently hazardous condition.

The "stream of commerce" refers to anyone that took part in the product coming to fruiting and going to the market, from initial conception to sale, including a distributor or seller. According to Missouri Revised Statute §5537.762, someone sold the product but were not involved in the design or manufacture of it can be dismissed from the suit if:

• The manufacturer is known, has not closed their business and can afford to pay for all of your injuries.
• The entity that sold it makes an affidavit under oath that they had nothing to do with the product beyond selling it.
• No other party in the case submits evidence that the distributor was involved in any other part of the stream of commerce.
• The motion to dismiss is filed within 60 days.

If the aforementioned conditions are fulfilled, the seller would then be dismissed without prejudice, meaning they are not permanently dismissed from the case. So, if later evidence demonstrates that they had a larger role in the engineering of the product than they implied, were otherwise responsible for the fault or the manufacturer cannot pay for all of your damages, your defective products lawyer at Burger Law would have them re-entered into the lawsuit and ensure you get the great financial recovery that they owe you.

Missouri Revised Statute §537.764 mentions a caveat for "state of the art products," where a hazardous condition could not be completely understood before use by the public. This defense will only work for for failure to warn defective products claims, and the burden of proof is on the defense.

Negligence vs. Strict Liability in Defective Products Cases

Most personal injury cases in Ashland, MO are based on the concept of negligence. We all owe each other a duty of care in certain situations; for example, drivers must drive in a way that's safe for other people on the Ashland, MO roads. When someone is negligent, for example if sustain an injury because you were hit by a distracted driver they may be held accountable for your damages and would owe you a financial recovery.

However, most product liability or hazardous products cases are determined by strict liability, meaning that a designer, manufacturer or vendor is at fault for any injuries a product causes, whether they were negligent or not. According to jury instruction revisions made by the Missouri Supreme Court, defendant's in a product liability case may be held to the strict liability standard if you and your Ashland, MO defective products lawyer can demonstrate that the product was "unreasonably dangerous" — meaning it is unsafe when used as intended or in a foreseeable way — when it left the manufacturer's or distributor's control.

Missouri classifies three different ways in which your defective products lawyer can argue a product was dangerous:

1. Design Defect: A design defect is an inherent fault in the design that afterwards passes the defect to all products with the same design. An example is an improperly designed safeguard on a power tool.
2. Manufacturing Defects: A product can be designed effectively and safely but still become hazardous because of a failure in the manufacturing process. This can either only make one product faulty, i.e. a single vehicle, or several or all of them, as in an entire line of the same model vehicle. An example could be bugs or other contaminants found in beverages or using the wrong kind of screws or bolts.
3. Failure to Warn of Known Dangers or Risks That Should Have Been Foreseen: This refers to a product made it through design and production safely but caused injury because it did not give proper instructions or warnings about innate risks. Examples include a drug that is sold without mentioning certain risks or side effects or cleaning solutions that do not mention corrosive chemicals they contain on the label. A manufacturer generally does not have to warn against risks that a reasonable person would anticipate. For instance, they do not have to warn you that a chainsaw can cut you.

Strict liability is intended to encourage corporations to implement exhaustive safety protocols for ensuring the safety of their products. Even so, too often corporations do not respect their obligation to make safe products and try to focus more on cutting costs than ensuring their products will not cause any damage. When that happens, your Burger Law defective products lawyer in Ashland, MO will fight on your behalf and demand only the maximum financial recovery.

Comparative Negligence in Defective Productions Claims in Ashland, MO

Manufacturers, distributors and anyone else in the stream of commerce will often rely on the theory of comparative fault when building their defense. Missouri Revised Statute §537.765 permits for the manufacturer or seller to put forth the argument that you share a portion of the fault and, therefore, they are not liable for the full extent of your damages. For example, if a jury determines that you have $100,000 in damages but finds you were 30 percent liable for your injuries, you will only receive $70,000. Often, comparative negligence arguments are an erroneous attempt a defendant makes to eschew their duty to reimburse you for the damage their product did to you. Your Ashland, MO defective products lawyer at Burger Law will not let them get away with it. Under the statute, the defense may say you shoulder some or all of the fault if one or several of the following circumstances apply:

• You did not use the product in a manner the manufacturer could foresee. A manufacturer or distributor is only responsible for ensuring the product is safe for reasonable or predictable use. For example, electric razors are not specifically intended to be used in the shower, but they often are. If an electric razor is not water resistant and could lead to the user getting a shock, a warning needs to be included in the packaging. On the other hand, if you put wheels on a chair and are injured racing it down the street, you likely do not have a claim because the manufacture would not be expected to foresee that use of the product.
• You used the product in a way that was clearly against the manufacturer's intent. With this defense, Someone in the stream of commerce will not be able to totally avoid liability but can significantly lower it. Suppose you crash a car while driving 40 miles per hour over the speed limit and the brakes do not work as well as they should. The manufacturer could reasonably foresee someone doing that, but will not be completely responsible because you were being reckless.
• You used the product while aware of a reasonable level of danger associated with the use. This is often called as "Assumption of the risk," a theory in tort claims whereby, if the injured party was aware of risks, the defendant is not responsible. For instance, if you were taking a prescription drug and experience negative side effects, the pharmaceutical company would not be liable if they warned of the risk and/or you were informed of it by your doctor.
• You did not appreciate the dangers of a certain product or activity when a reasonable person clearly would have. For example, you modify a chainsaw or other tool to remove certain guards or safety measures. The defense could argue that the risk of doing so was obvious, and you should have known how dangerous it was.
• You did not follow safety guidelines. Putting adequate warnings and safety instructions on a product's labeling can often protect someone in the stream of commerce from liability. If you were injured in a car accident because of faulty brakes, but you were not wearing your seatbelt, the defense can argue your injuries are your fault because you had not adhered to recommended safety measures.
• You failed to mitigate your damages. In any personal injury claim, you have a duty to try to lessen the financial recovery you are owed. For example, you cannot seek compensation for medical treatment for injuries that have nothing to do with. The defense may say you have no right to ask them for money they do not owe you.

Just because the manufacturer or distributor can — and will — assert that you share part of the blame, that does not mean they will be successful. Bullying corporations and insurance companies employ myriad tricks to try and minimize your claim, but your Ashland, MO defective products lawyer at Burger Law knows how to combat them. We know these companies are unfair and try to take advantage of people who do not have the same resources. All you will ever owe is a contingency fee, which means we get paid a moderate percentage of the financial recovery you get, and we do not collect any attorney's fees until we win your case. Get in touch with Burger Law immediately at (314) 500-HURT for legal advocacy that parallels and exceeds that of resistant manufacturers and vendors and insurance adjusters.

Defective Vehicle Parts Lawyer in Ashland, MO

Defective vehicles are the most common type of product liability that our defective products lawyer team sees in Ashland, MO. In 2019 alone, more than 53.1 million recalls were issued both for entire vehicles and individual parts. Defective car parts can cause wrecks and fires, and lead to further injuries when the safety components to not function as they should. Common dangerous motor vehicle components we see are:

• Brakes
• Airbags
• Fuel systems
• Windshield wipers
• Tires
• Seats
• Engine cooling fan blades

Offroad vehicles like ATVs can also cause damage, for instance many of them are prone to rolling over.

Your Burger Law defective products lawyer has extensive experience investigating car accident claims and injuries and will consult with experts to determine if your accident was the fault of a faulty vehicle component.

Defective Medical Devices Lawyer in Ashland, MO

We trust medical devices to enhance and extend our lives. But, sometimes they actually do the opposite and cause us further injuries when they are defective. Examples of medical devices that your Burger Law defective products lawyer in Ashland, MO has seen be defective are:

• Artificial hips, knees or other joints that can result in infections, instability, chronic soreness or recurring dislocations
• Pacemakers, which can result in infections or even wrongful death when they do not last as long as expected
• Surgical robots designed to operate on parts of the body that are difficult for a surgeon to manually reach that, when faulty, can lead to punctured organs, infections and electrical burns
• Blood clot filters that do not sufficiently protect the lungs from free-floating blood clots
• Permanent birth control implements that can puncture organs, result in pain in the pelvic region, excessive bleeding and unwanted pregnancies

As the medical industry keeps implementing new technologies, the amount of recalls issued for medical devices has soared. In the first three months of 2018, medical device recalls rose by 126 percent, with software issues being the major cause.

In 2017, the U.S. Health and Human Services Department stated that throughout 10 years Medicare paid out at least $1.5 billion to replace in excess of 73,000 defective heart devices alone. We should not have to worry that these highly technological medical devices might cause us immense pain instead of easing it. If a defective medical device ended up worsening your condition, your Ashland, MO defective injuries lawyer at Burger Law will fight for your right to be reimbursed when your trust was betrayed.

Earlier this year, Exactech, a company that manufactures implants and joint replacements, was forced to recall several models of their Polyethylene Knee Replacements. Their knee replacements were improperly packaged and shipped, causing them to do not last nearly as long as they were intended to and have caused unthinkable pain and permanent damage to possibly as many as 150,000 patients who were depending on the replacement joint to ease their pain. When Burger Law was made aware of the defect by a client, we immediately got to work bringing them what peace of mind we could and continue to take on Exactech Knee Replacement cases. You can view the complaint we filed for our first client by clicking the button below:

View Complaint

Defective Drug Lawyer in Ashland, MO

The Federal Drug Administration has firm procedures for the testing, labeling, packaging and shipping of prescription drugs. However, the administration does not actually test drugs itself; rather, it relies on data from pharmaceutical companies' own testing to determine if a drug is safe for release to the public. That means that many drugs reach the shelves whose potential side effects greatly outweigh their potential benefits. Too many pharmaceutical companies value their bottom line over the safety of the people they are supposed to be helping. Currently, recalling a drug is largely voluntary. One way to make sure dangerous prescriptions stay off the shelves: call a Burger Law defective products lawyer in Ashland, MO to stand up to these bullying corporations and let them know that their behavior is deplorable.

Hundreds of thousands of prescriptions and medical devices are recalled in the U.S. annually, and that is often after many people have already turned to them for treatment and relief. If you or someone you love received injuries because of careless pharmaceutical companies and manufacturers, call a Burger Law defective products injury lawyer as soon as possible. We protect the rights of the injured and vulnerable and make sure negligent corporations know how much damage has been inflicted because of their actions. Burger Law has already held opioid manufacturers responsible when their selfishness has taken someone from their family too soon.

Other examples of dangerous products we file suit for in Ashland, MO include:

• Children's toys
• Chemicals such as cleaning products
• Baby powder
• Household appliances
• Industrial equipment
• Cell phone batteries
• Cosmetic products

Every Burger Law defective products lawyer in Ashland, MO knows that being harmed by a faulty product can completely disrupt your daily routine, your family and even your present and future financial security. That is why we have committed our lives to seeing the injured in Ashland and throughout Missouri recover the best possible compensation for all of their damages, not just what the product manufacturer or insurance company wants to pay. When you hire us, we immediately start working on securing you a financial recovery for all of your medical expenses and lost wages, as well as the emotional and physical toll your injury has inflicted on you and your Ashland, MO family. We will fight by your side the entire away and never allow a powerful corporation think that they are going to win every time. Call a Burger Law defective products lawyer in Ashland, MO immediately at (314) 500-HURT or contact us online to take the first step toward true healing.