Ohio Defective and Dangerous Products Liability Attorney

Dangerous products cause thousands of injuries and deaths every year. If you, your child, or another loved one has been harmed by a defective product, Borgess Law can help you seek just compensation.

Broken Down Building Site

A product liability claim is one that seeks to recover monetary damages from a manufacturer or supplier of a product for death, physical injury, emotional distress or property damage.  The claim most often arises from the design, manufacture or testing of the product, or the lack of adequate warnings associated with that product.

Product liability is a complex area of the law, and effectively handling a product liability case requires years of legal experience.  Defective products might include medical drugs/devices, children’s products, vehicles, tires, guardrails, tools, machinery, flammable clothing, or other products.  The big corporations that manufacture products have teams of lawyers on their side and they will stop at nothing to protect their bottom lines. As the victim of a defective product, you could be entitled to significant compensation; but, to claim this compensation, you need an attorney who can level the playing field.

Attorney Pamela Borgess, the founder of Borgess Law, has over two decades of legal experience including with numerous national high-profile cases.  For example, Ms. Borgess received national attention when she was the first attorney to file suit regarding the tainted drug, Heparin, which was manufactured by a U.S. drug company at an uninspected facility in China and took the lives of hundreds of innocent Americans in late 2007 and early 2008.  In April of 2008, she was honored to have three of her clients speak before Congress at an investigational hearing entitled, “The Heparin Disaster: Chinese Counterfeits and American Failures.”  Their stories have been featured in various news media, including, but not limited to, ABC Nightly News, Nightline, Time Magazine, CNN and Bloomberg News. As a result of her work in contaminated Heparin litigation, Ms. Borgess was appointed a top leadership position in In re Heparin Products Liability Litigation, MDL 1953 and helped lead the litigation against Baxter, SPL and other Defendants.

If you or a loved one has been injured or killed by a defective product, Borgess Law can help you fight for the compensation you deserve.

Understanding Product Liability Claims

Product liability cases are not necessarily like other types of personal injury claims. Generally, in order to recover compensation you need to be able to prove that the product was defective in some fashion. You must also prove that your injury or loss was caused by the product’s defect.

Of course, this does not mean that product liability cases are easy. Multiple experts are often needed to prove the defect or the resulting harm.  Testing of the product may also be needed.  Further, since there are usually large amounts of money at stake, manufacturers, suppliers, and their insurance companies will fight vigorously to avoid being held financially responsible. There can be many defenses that a manufacturer or supplier could raise to defeat your claim.  As a result, product liability claims require a thorough investigation. But, while these cases can be complicated, the results of a successful claim could be well worth it for the victims and their families. For more information, we encourage you to schedule a free consultation.

Types of Defects that Can Lead to Product Liability Claims

In broad terms, there are four main types of defects that could give rise to claims for product liability in Ohio.   The product may be defective in its manufacture or construction, its design or formulation, the failure to provide adequate warning or instruction, or the failure to conform to a representation made by its manufacturer or supplier.

  • Manufacturing Defects – When a product has a manufacturing defect, there may not be an inherent problem with its design, but instead a problem during the manufacturing process causes the product to become defective.  The product may deviate in a material way from the design specifications, formula, or performance standards of the manufacturer.  It may also deviate from otherwise identical units manufactured to the same design, specifications, formula or performance standards.  A classic example might be a defective wood hammer handle that cracks during production, causing the head to fly off while hammering. However, manufacturing defects can also affect electronics, pharmaceuticals, appliances, toys, vehicles, and all other types of products.
  • Design Defects – When a product has a design defect, it is unreasonably dangerous regardless of whether it is manufactured or used properly. For example, an example might be a infant’s toy that contains small removable parts which present a choking hazard.
  • Failure to Warn – The third type of product defect is known as “failure to warn.” Sometimes, products have hidden dangers such as the side effects of a medication or a fire risk associated with an electronic device. A manufacturer owes a duty to warn of risks that it knows, or in the exercise of reasonable care, should have known are associated with the product. If it fails to do so, it could be held liable for failure to warn.
  • Failure to Conform to Representation – A manufacturer may make a representation as to a material fact concerning the character or quality of its product   If the product does not conform to that representation and the injured party relied on that representation to their detriment, a claim could possibly arise.  For example, a manufacturer might warrant that its product is fire-retardant, when it is not.

Have You Been Harmed by a Defective Product? Contact Borgess Law Today

To find out if you have a product liability claim, we invite you to contact us for a free, no-obligation consultation. Call (567) 455-5955. You can also contact Borgess Law by submitting an online inquiry or emailing Attorney Pamela Borgess directly at pborgess@BorgessLaw.com.