Defective Products Lawyer in Johnson County, MO.

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

Imagine your daily routine: You may make coffee in a coffee maker in the morning, take allergy medication, go to school or work in your car, sit at in a chair or work around technology, and/or use your android on and off throughout the day. You may drive go-carts 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 at one point was designed, manufactured, shipped and sold. When there is an oversight in the stream of commerce and a product becomes hazardous, it can cause severe injuries to you and your Johnson County, MO family. When that happens to you, you need the skilled and devoted legal representation of Burger Law's defective products lawyer team to stand up to powerful corporations and deliver you the maximum financial recovery you are owed.

In our In our 30 years of experience fighting for the rights of the injured and vulnerable, we have won our clients in Johnson County and throughout Missouri more than $170 million. Talking to us is free, so there's no reason to wait. Get in touch with a defective products lawyer in Johnson County, MO immediately at (314) 500-HURT.

If you were harmed by a defective product in Johnson County, MO, see how much your claim may be worth by using our free personal injury calculator.



Below are some useful links and FAQS from your Burger Law defective products injury lawyer in Johnson County, 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?

Johnson County, MO Defective Products Statistics

The Consumer Product Safety Commission states that defective products are responsible for more than 29 million injuries and 21,000 deaths 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 extreme harm that can be caused when manufacturers and distributors do not adhere to adequate safety protocols.

If you or someone you know was injured by a faulty product, call a Burger Law defective products lawyer in Johnson County, MO for passionate, committed and experienced support and legal advocacy.

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

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

1. The person was involved in the product's chain of distribution.
2. You used the product in a manner easily expected.
3. One or both of the following:
   1. The product had a defective condition that was unreasonably hazardous when you bought the product 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 involved in the product from initial design to purchase, including the person or entity you bought the product from. According to Missouri Revised Statute §5537.762, someone who had nothing to do with the product beyond selling it can avoid liability if:

• The manufacturer is known, has not closed their business and is able to reimburse you for all of your injuries.
• The seller makes an affidavit under threat of perjury that they had nothing to do with the product beyond selling it.
• No other party in the case puts forward evidence that the vendor was involved in any other part of the design and manufacturing process.
• The motion to dismiss is filed within 60 days.

If the aforementioned conditions are met, the distributor would then be dismissed without prejudice, which means the dismissal is temporary at first. So, if later evidence shows that they were actually involved in the engineering of the product, were otherwise at fault for the dangerous condition or the manufacturer cannot pay for all of the economic, physical and emotional loss you sustained, your defective products lawyer at Burger Law would have them re-entered into the lawsuit and ensure that every to-blame party is held responsible.

Missouri Revised Statute §537.764 has an exception for "state of the art products," where a dangerous condition could not be completely understood before use by the consumer. This defense will only work for for inadequate warning product liability claims, and the burden of proof is on the defense.

Strict Liability and Negligence in Defective Products Claims: What's the Difference?

The majority of personal injury cases in Johnson County, MO are won or lost based on the conception of negligence. We all owe each other a duty of care in certain situations; for example, doctors must treat their Johnson County, MO patients with a standard of care. When someone fails in that duty, for instance if you sustain a dog bite are because a dog owner didn't properly leash their dog they may be found responsible for your damages and would owe you a financial recovery.

However, most product liability or dangerous products cases are strict liability claims, meaning that anyone in the chain of distribution is to blame for any damage that results the reasonable use of a product, 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 Johnson County, 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 — at the moment that you acquired it.

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 defect in the design that subsequently affects all products with the same design. An example is a piece of clothing that is easily flammable.
2. Manufacturing Defects: This refers to a product that was safe in its design but became unsafe because of a failure in the manufacturing process. This can either affect only one product, 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 a swing set with a cracked chain.
3. Insufficient Warnings and Instructions: This refers to a product that was designed and manufactured 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 food packaging that does not mention all the ingredients and causes an allergic reaction. A manufacturer generally does not have to warn against obvious dangers. For instance, they do not have to warn you that a chainsaw can cut you.

Strict liability is meant to hold corporations accountable and persuade them to implement thorough safety protocols for ensuring the safety of their products. However, too often companies are negligent and concentrate more on cutting costs than ensuring their products will not hurt anyone. In those cases, your Burger Law defective products lawyer in Johnson County, MO will hold them accountable by conducting a full investigation of your case and insisting on nothing but full compensation.

Comparative Negligence in Defective Productions Claims in Johnson County, MO

Manufacturers, sellers and anyone else in the chain of distribution will often rely on the theory of comparative fault when creating their defense. Missouri Revised Statute §537.765 permits for those in the chain of distribution to put forth the defense that you are liable for a portion of your damages and, therefore, they are not obligated to reimburse you for your full financial recovery. For example, if a jury awards you $100,000 but finds you were 30 percent to blame for your injuries, you will only receive $70,000. Often, claims of comparative fault are a deceitful attempt an entity involved in the chain of distribution makes to get out their duty to reimburse you for the damage their product did to you. Your Johnson County, MO defective products lawyer at Burger Law sees through that. The statute allows for the defense of comparative fault if the following situations 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, while chairs are meant to be sat on, standing on one to reach something is common. So if a certain model of chair is dangerous to stand on, the manufacturer needs to include a warning not to stand on it. 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 reasonably foresee that use of the product.
• You used the product in a manner that was clearly against the manufacturer's intent. With this defense, Someone in the stream of commerce will not be able to entirely avoid fault but can considerably lower it. Say 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 knew of inherent hazards of the product while you were using it. This is often called as "Assumption of the risk," a principle in tort claims wherein, if a plaintiff knowingly enters into a dangerous activity, the defendant is not responsible. For instance, you understand that using a sharp kitchen knife can cut you if you are not extremely careful.
• You displayed an unreasonable failure to appreciate the danger that a product's specific use could cause. For example, you modify a chainsaw or other tool to remove certain guards or safety measures. The defense could say that any reasonable person would have known that they could be seriously harmed doing such a thing.
• You failed to follow safety guidelines. Certain products come with safety instructions that the user has an obligation to follow to protect themselves. 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 proper protocols.
• You failed to try to keep your damages to a minimum. In any personal injury claim, you are expected to try to keep your damages as low as you reasonable can. For example, you cannot seek compensation for medical treatment for injuries that occurred before the accident you are making a claim for. The defense may say they do not owe you for a portion of your damages because they are unnecessary or not relevant to the case.

Just because the manufacturer or distributor can — and will — work hard to persuade a jury that you share part of the blame, that does not mean they will be successful. Bullying corporations and insurance companies implement a lot of tricks to try and devalue your claim, but your Johnson County, MO defective products lawyer at Burger Law knows how to combat them. We know these large corporations will try everything to avoid paying you 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 collect, and we do not collect any attorney's fees until we win your case. Get in touch with Burger Law today at (314) 500-HURT for legal counsel that parallels and surpasses that of resistant manufacturers and distributors and insurance companies.

Defective Vehicle Parts Lawyer in Johnson County, MO

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

• Brakes
• Airbags
• Fuel systems
• Windshield wipers
• Wheels
• Steering systems
• Accelerators

Alternative vehicles like 4-wheelers can also cause harm, for instance if a design defect gives them a heightened propensity 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 Johnson County, MO

We trust medical devices to enhance and extend our lives. But, sometimes they can do the opposite and make our lives worse when not manufactured, shipped or installed correctly. Common medical devices that your Burger Law defective products lawyer in Johnson County, MO has seen cause further injuries to patients include:

• Artificial hips, knees or other joints that can result in infections, limited mobility, pain or repeated dislocations
• Cardiovascular devises, which can cause 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 they malfunction, can cause perforated 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 perforate organs, result in pain in the pelvic region, excessive bleeding and unwanted pregnancies

As the medical industry keeps coming up with new technologies, the numbers of recalls issued for medical devices has skyrocketed. In the first quarter of 2018, medical device recalls rose by 126 percent, mostly as a result of defects in software.

In 2017, the U.S. Health and Human Services Department reported that in the course of 10 years Medicare had to spend at least $1.5 billion to replace over 73,000 defective heart devices alone. Medical devices should help alleviate pain and lengthen our lifespans, not cause further damage. If a flawed medical device ended up aggravating your condition, your Johnson County, MO defective injuries lawyer at Burger Law will fight for your right to be reimbursed when your trust was betrayed.

In February 2022, Exactech, a company that manufactures implants and joint replacements, issued an Exactech Polyethylene Knee Replacement Recall. Their knee replacements were negligently packaged and shipped, causing them to degrade too quickly and have caused unthinkable pain and permanent damage to potentially as many as 150,000 people who had received the replacement joint. When Burger Law was contacted by a client, we immediately filed suit on their behalf and continue to take on Exactech Knee Replacement cases. You can read our original complaint by clicking the link below:

View Complaint

Defective Drug Lawyer in Johnson County, MO

The Federal Drug Administration has firm procedures that pharmaceutical companies must obey from manufacturing to delivery. 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 medications reach the market without an objective analysis of the potential drawbacks compared to the potential benefits. Too many pharmaceutical companies value their bottom line over 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 Johnson County, MO to stand up to these bullying corporations and let them know that their conduct is intolerable.

Four thousand five hundred drugs and medical devices are taken off the national market annually, and many of them have already been widely ingested and used. If you or a family member received injuries because of irresponsible pharmaceutical companies and corporations, get in touch with a Burger Law defective products injury lawyer now. We protect the rights of the injured and vulnerable and make sure negligent corporations know how much damage they have caused. Burger Law has already held opioid manufacturers accountable when their negligence has taken someone from their family too soon.

Other common defective products we collect compensation for our clients for in Johnson County, MO include:

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

Every Burger Law defective products lawyer in Johnson County, MO knows that being harmed by a dangerous product can completely upend your life. That is why we have committed our lives to seeing the injured in Johnson County and throughout Missouri receive great compensation for all of their damages, not just what the product manufacturer or insurance company feel like reimbursing you for. When you hire us, we do not hesitate to start working on getting you a financial recovery for all of your medical bills and lost wages, as well as the mental and physical hardships your injury has taken on you and your Johnson County, MO family. You do not have to go through this alone, and the big corporations do not have to win every time. Call a Burger Law defective products lawyer in Johnson County, MO immediately at (314) 500-HURT or contact us online to start on the path to a true recovery.