Product Liability
Injury Attorneys Representing Chicago Consumers Harmed by Defective Devices
At Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca, our experienced injury lawyers help people who have been harmed due to faulty or poorly designed products. Product liability claims often involve allegations that an item caused harm because of a defect in its design, an error in the manufacturing process, or a failure to warn of potential hazards. If a product is unreasonably dangerous or has a defect that results in injuries, a victim has legal rights to assert. Our Chicago product liability lawyers can help injured people pursue negligence, strict liability, and other legal claims against the parties that were responsible for harming them.
Bringing a Product Liability Claim in Illinois
Under Illinois law, victims of injuries caused by faulty products are entitled to recover damages. They must show that they were injured, the product was defective and caused their injuries, and they were using the product as it was intended to be used. An important part of this process is proving the defective nature of the product. There may be legal claims based on manufacturing errors, design defects, or failures to warn.
Manufacturing errors exist due to flaws in making a product. In some cases, they may be straightforward to prove. Often, this form of defect does not affect many items but only one or a few.
A victim also may allege that, while the product was manufactured correctly, its design is flawed. Design defects affect the entire line of a product. Victims often try to show that the design of a product was unreasonably dangerous to use. This may be a valid claim against a manufacturer that designed children’s pajama sets out of highly flammable material, for example, or created a toy that gives off toxic fumes when children use it as it was intended.
Failure to warn cases rely on the notion that a consumer would not be aware of the product’s dangers. If the warnings and instructions on a product are not sufficient, a victim may have a strong case. If a product has a user manual that provides warnings about the use of the product, a court may look at whether these warnings were adequate.
Illinois law provides that product liability claims may be brought under a negligence or strict liability theory, or both. Manufacturers or sellers may be found legally at fault if they have breached their duty of care to the buyer. Sellers and others may be strictly liable if the injury resulted from a defect that was unreasonably dangerous and that existed when the product left the manufacturer’s control.
Plaintiffs in product liability lawsuits must demonstrate that they were using the product as it was intended to be used. While this does not mean that the use of the product must conform entirely to the manufacturer’s specifications, it must be used in a way that could reasonably be expected. This is because manufacturers have a duty to protect consumers from dangers posed by the reasonably foreseeable use of their products.
Consult a Product Liability Lawyer in the Chicago Area
At Katz, Friedman, Eisenstein, Johnson, Bareck & Bertuca, we are prepared to aggressively advocate on behalf of people injured by faulty products. As experienced Chicago product liability attorneys, we can explore all of the potential theories of liability on behalf of our clients. For decades, we have helped injured individuals seek maximum compensation for their medical costs, pain and suffering, and lost income, among other damages. Our personal injury and wrongful death attorneys also represent people in Rockford, Aurora, Springfield, Champaign, and Quincy, as well as other cities in Kane, Cook, Sangamon, Winnebago, Champaign, and Adams Counties. Call 312-724-5846 or complete our online form to set up a free consultation.