Defective Product Attorney in St. Louis, Missouri
Missouri Law on Dangerous and Defective Products
When you are injured by a dangerous or defective product, you have what is traditionally referred to as a product liability case.
A product liability case in Missouri involves an injury to someone that is caused by a dangerous or defective product. Typical products involved in Missouri products liability cases include:
Cars
Car Brakes
Car Components
Car Transmissions
Car Ignition Systems
Tires
Electrical Equipment
Wires
Space Heaters
Air Conditioning Units
Laptop Computers
Food Poisoning
Hazardous Materials
Defective Drugs
Household Appliances
Stoves
Ovens
Oxygen Tanks
Responsible Entities
Missouri law sets forth that numerous companies can be held liable for just one defective product. In Missouri the following types of entities can be held liable in product liability cases:
Manufacturer of a product
Manufacturer of a component of a product
Assembler of a product
Product wholesaler
Product Retailer
Insurance Company Tactics
In the event that you are hurt by a defective product, you will inevitably have to deal with an insurance company. When dealing with an insurance company, it is important to note the following:
Insurance companies are not on your side.
When insurance companies find out about a potential product liability injury claim, they will contact you immediately. They will ask you to provide a statement of what happened and they will ask you to provide them with all of your medical records and bills related to the accident. At first, these insurance companies will appear to be on your side and may come across as someone who is trying to help you get through your injury. Despite this, after complying with all of their demands, the insurance company will offer you a settlement that is substantially inadequate. Most of the time, the offer doesn’t even cover your medical bills, let alone your pain and suffering.
Hold Negligent Companies Accountable
Get StartedComparative Fault
Insurance companies will employ many different tactics to try to convince you that your claim isn’t what you think it is. One of these tactics is to tell the injured party that they contributed to the accident. This is called comparative fault.
Comparative fault is a doctrine recognized by Missouri law that essentially allows fault or blame to be placed upon the injured party. Specifically, juries are told that if they see fit, they may assign a percentage of fault to an injured party based on the facts of the case. For example, a jury may find that an injured party’s actions, although not the main reason, still contributed to the accident occurring and as such will assign fault to the injured party. This assignment of fault will reduce your award in proportion to the percentage assigned.
Insurance companies are well aware of this doctrine and will oftentimes abuse this doctrine in an attempt to make the injured party believe they played a role in the accident. Insurance companies will make a determination for themselves as to what percentage of blame is to be placed upon the injured driver. For example, insurance companies will assign a significant percentage of blame to an injured driver who was injured in an accident due to being cut off by another driver. Despite following all applicable rules and regulations, insurance companies simply think being cut off by another driver is the injured party’s fault. Of course, this doesn’t follow simple logic, but that is how insurance companies think.
Why You Need to Hire a Lawyer
When an attorney gets involved in a product liability claim, insurance companies take notice. They begin to realize that they can no longer take advantage of an injured person who is in a bad situation. Insurance companies know that an attorney has the ability and resources to properly investigate an accident. Likewise, an attorney understands all the facets of a personal injury claim giving you a distinct advantage against the insurance company. All in all, when an attorney gets involved, the insurance company knows that the injured party means business.
What We Can Do For You
The Law Office of Steve Slough routinely handles product liability cases. The firm prides itself on standing up to insurance companies and fighting for construction accident victims. We have experience in dealing with insurance companies and know how to quickly discredit the theories they use to deny your claim.
If you have been injured by someone else, please feel free to call our office for a free consultation.