Defective Products Lawyer in Carthage, MO.

Defective Products Lawyer in Carthage, MO. If you or someone you care about sustained an injury because of a dangerous product, get in touch with a Burger law defective products lawyer in Carthage, MO today at (314) 500-HURT or fill out our online form for a complimentary case evaluation.

Picture your daily routine: You may have a skincare routine or put on some hair gel in the morning, take allergy medication, go to school or work on your bike, sit by a computer or work around technology, and/or use your iPhone at various times during the day. You may drive go-carts on your free days. You may even have a pacemaker or other medical device. It seems we're always using or surrounded by some sort of technology that at one point was designed, manufactured, packaged and bought. When there is an oversight in the chain of distribution and a product becomes defective, it can cause severe injuries to you and your Carthage, MO family. If tragedy struck you, you need the experienced and devoted legal services of Burger Law's defective products lawyer team to stand in your corner and get you the great compensation you deserve.

In our three decades of negotiation, litigation and trial experience, we have gotten our clients in Carthage and throughout Missouri over $170 million. Our initial consultations are no-cost, no-obligation, so there's no risk in having us look over your claim. Get in touch with a defective products lawyer in Carthage, MO today at (314) 500-HURT.

If you were injured by a defective product in Carthage, MO, see the true value of your case by filling out our free personal injury calculator.



Below are some helpful links and FAQS from your Burger Law defective products injury lawyer in Carthage, 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?

Carthage, MO Defective Products Statistics

The Consumer Product Safety Commission states that dangerous products result in in excess of 29 million injuries and 21,000 fatalities each year.

Based on facts 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 extreme harm an unsafe product can cause.

If you or someone you know was injured by a faulty product, call a Burger Law defective products lawyer in Carthage, MO for empathetic, devoted and experienced support and legal representation.

What is the Process for Defective Products Claims in Carthage, MO?

Under Missouri Revised Statute §537.760, you and your Carthage, MO defective products lawyer can can hold a person or corporation at fault for your damages if three conditions are true:

1. The company was part of the product's stream of commerce.
2. The product was used in a way easily foreseen.
3. One or both of the following:
   1. The product had a defective 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 dangerous condition.

The "chain of distribution" refers to anyone involved in the product from initial conception to purchase, including the person or entity you bought the product from. Pursuant to Missouri Revised Statute §5537.762, an entity sold the product but were not involved in the design or manufacture of it may be dismissed from the case if:

• You discover who the manufacturer is, it has not closed their business and is financially capable of paying you for all of your damages.
• The vendor makes an affidavit under threat of perjury that they had nothing to do with the product beyond selling it.
• There is no evidence is submitted to the court that the distributor was involved in any other part of the chain of distribution.
• The dismissal is requested to the judge within 60 days.

If those conditions are satisfied, the distributor would then be dismissed without prejudice, which means the dismissal is temporary at first. So, if later evidence shows that they had a larger role in the production of the product than they intimated, were otherwise to blame for the dangerous condition or the manufacturer cannot compensate you for the entirety of the economic, physical and emotional loss you sustained, your defective products lawyer at Burger Law would then be able to call them back to court and ensure that every liable party is held responsible.

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 consumer. This defense is only valid for failure to warn product liability claims, and it is up to the defense to prove that there is no way they could have known about the hazardous aspect.

The Difference Between Strict Liability and Negligence in Defective Products Cases

Most personal injury claims in Carthage, MO are decided by the conception of negligence. We all have a civil duty to not carelessly cause harm to other people in certain situations; for example, property owners and managers must make sure their premises is reasonably safe so no one sustains a slip and fall. When someone fails in that responsibility, for example if if you are misdiagnosed because of substandard medical attention they may be held liable for your damages and would be obligated to reimburse you for your injuries and other damages.

However, most product liability or defective products claims come down to strict liability, meaning that anyone in the chain of distribution is to blame for any injuries a product causes, irrespective of negligence. 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 Carthage, 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 innate imperfection in the design that afterwards passes the flaw 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 dangerous because of mistakes in the manufacturing process. This can either only make one product defective, for example, one can of soda may have a bug in it, or all of them may contain potentially dangerous chemicals. An example could be bugs or other contaminants found in beverages or not properly fastening components to each other.
3. Insufficient Warnings and Instructions: 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 inherent risks. Examples include a drug that is sold without mentioning certain risks or side effects or not advising an appropriate age range for children if a toy or game is a choking hazard. The company that makes a product typically does not have to warn against dangers that a reasonable person would foresee. For instance, they do not have to warn you that a chainsaw can cut you.

Strict liability is intended to hold corporations accountable and persuade them to implement comprehensive safety procedures for verifying that their products will not pose a danger to the public. Even so, too often companies are negligent and try to focus more on cutting costs than ensuring their products will not hurt anyone. When that happens, your Burger Law defective products lawyer in Carthage, MO will fight on your behalf and demand only the best possible financial recovery.

Comparative Negligence in Defective Productions Claims in Carthage, MO

An oft-used defense for manufacturers in a defective products claim is that you are liable for all or a percentage of your damages. Missouri Revised Statute §537.765 permits for the manufacturer or distributor to posit that you share a portion of your damages and, therefore, they are not obligated to reimburse you 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 responsible for your injuries, your total compensation will only be $70,000. Often, claims of comparative fault are a deceitful attempt an entity involved in the chain of distribution makes to eschew their duty to reimburse you for the damage their product did to you. Your Carthage, MO defective products lawyer at Burger Law will not let them get away with it. The statute allows for the defense of comparative negligence if the following situations apply:

• You did not use the product in a way the manufacturer could foresee. A manufacturer or vendor is only has to make a product safe for ways that they can expect a consumer to use it. For example, while chairs are meant to be sat on, it is easy to predict that someone will stand on one. So if a certain model of chair is dangerous to stand on, the manufacturer needs to include a warning not to stand on it. By contrast, if you are injured playing catch with a power tool or other sharp object, 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 the manufacturer did not intend. With this defense, the defendant will likely not be able to avoid liability altogether, but can considerably reduce it but can considerably lower it. Suppose you combine a certain medication with alcohol, producing negative side-effects or leading you to cause an auto wreck. A pharmaceutical company could reasonably see 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 wherein, 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 were injured while snowmobiling at high speeds in a blizzard on icy surfaces. 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 packaging can often protect someone in the chain of distribution 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 followed recommended safety measures.
• You failed to try to keep your damages to a minimum. In any personal injury claim, you are ethically bound to try to keep your damages as low as you reasonable can. 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 people in the stream of commerce can — and will — try to convince the court that you share part of the blame, that does not mean you will definitely be blamed for part of the accident. Powerful corporations and insurance companies employ a lot of tricks to try and devalue your claim, but your Carthage, MO defective products lawyer at Burger Law knows how to fight back against them. We know these large corporations have a lot of money to throw at their defense and try to take advantage of people who have never had to make an injury claim before. All you will ever owe is a contingency fee, which means we get paid a moderate percentage of the compensation you get, and we do not collect any attorney's fees until you get the great compensation you deserve. Get in touch with Burger Law today at (314) 500-HURT for legal counsel that matches and eclipses that of bullying corporations and insurance companies.

Defective Vehicle Parts Lawyer in Carthage, MO

Our defective products lawyer team sees in Carthage, MO sees more defective vehicles than any other product, both because of how many people use them and because of how many components it takes to make them run. In 2019 alone, in excess of 53.1 million recalls were issued both for entire vehicles and individual parts. Defective car parts can lead to wrecks and fires, and lead to further injuries when the safety components to not function as they should. Common dangerous automobile parts we see are:

• Brakes
• Airbags
• Ignitions
• Windshield wipers
• Wheels
• Seats
• Accelerators

Alternative vehicles like ATVs can also cause injuries, for instance many of them are prone to flipping 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 Carthage, MO

We trust medical devices to enhance and extend our lives. But, sometimes they can do the opposite and make our lives worse when they are defective. Common medical devices that your Burger Law defective products lawyer in Carthage, MO has seen be defective include:

• Artificial joints that can lead to infections, limited mobility, pain or recurring dislocations
• Cardiovascular devises, which can lead to infections or even wrongful death because of premature failures
• Robotic surgical assistants intended to operate on parts of the body that are difficult for a surgeon to manually reach that, when faulty, can lead to perforated organs, infections and internal burns
• Blood clot filters that permit dislodged blood clots to travel up to the lungs
• Permanent birth control devices that can perforate organs, lead to pain in the pelvic region, abnormal bleeding and unwanted pregnancies

As the medical industry becomes more high-tech, the amount of recalls issued for medical devices has gone up exponentially. In the first three months of 2018, medical device recalls rose by 126 percent, with software issues being the number one factor.

In 2017, the U.S. Health and Human Services Department reported that over the span of a decade Medicare had to spend at least $1.5 billion to replace more than 73,000 defective cardiovascular devices alone. We should not have to worry that these highly technological medical devices might cause us immense pain instead of helping us. If a faulty medical device caused you injuries, your Carthage, MO defective injuries lawyer at Burger Law will hold the at-fault parties accountable and make sure you receive a full financial recovery for all of the unneeded pain you experienced.

Earlier this year, Exactech, a manufacturer of joint replacements, had to recall several models of their Polyethylene Knee Replacements. Because of mistakes in their packaging and shipping process, the replacements deteriorate too quickly and have caused unthinkable pain and lifelong damage to potentially as many as 150,000 patients who had the replacement joint implanted. When Burger Law was retained by a client, we immediately filed suit on their behalf and are taking on more Exactech Knee Replacement cases to this day. You can view our original complaint by clicking the link below:

View Complaint

Defective Drug Lawyer in Carthage, MO

The Federal Drug Administration has stringent protocols for the testing, labeling, packaging and shipping of prescription drugs. However, the administration uses data from the pharmaceutical companies themselves when deciding whether or not to allow the drug to hit the market. That means that many prescriptions reach the market whose potential side effects greatly outweigh their potential benefits. Too many pharmaceutical companies care more about the money they make more than the safety of the people they are supposed to be helping. Currently, it is usually the pharmaceutical company's decision if they will recall a drug that has found to have dangerous side effects. One way to make sure dangerous prescriptions stay off the shelves: call a Burger Law defective products lawyer in Carthage, MO to stand up to these bullying corporations and let them know that their behavior is unacceptable.

Hundreds of thousands of medications and medical devices are recalled in the U.S. each year, and many of them have already been widely ingested and used. If you or a family member had your condition deteriorate because of reckless pharmaceutical companies and corporations, get in touch with a Burger Law defective products injury lawyer as soon as possible. We fight hard to see justice served by winning you compensation and holding negligent corporations liable. Burger Law has already held opioid manufacturers accountable when their negligence has taken someone from this world too soon.

Other examples of defective products we file suit for in Carthage, MO include:

• Children's toys
• Chemicals such as week killer
• Baby powder
• Household appliances
• Industrial machinery
• Cell phone batteries
• Cosmetic products

Every Burger Law defective products lawyer in Carthage, MO knows that being harmed by a dangerous product can completely disrupt your daily routine, your family and even your present and future financial security. That is why we have pledged our careers to seeing the vulnerable in Carthage and throughout Missouri be compensated for all of their damages, not just what the product manufacturer or insurance company will tell you is acceptable to them. When you hire us, we do not hesitate to start working on securing you a financial recovery for all of your medical expenses and lost wages, in addition to the mental and physical hardships your injury has taken on you and your Carthage, MO family. We will fight by your side the entire away and never allow a powerful corporation think they can take advantage of you. Call a Burger Law defective products lawyer in Carthage, MO now at (314) 500-HURT or contact us online to start on the path to being made whole again.