Were you or a loved one hurt because of a dangerous and defective product in St. Petersburg, FL? An experienced St. Petersburg product liability lawyer from Roman Austin Car Accident and Personal Injury Lawyers can be your strongest asset when it comes to recovering compensation. Call our law offices at (727) 787-2500 and schedule your free consultations today.
We have over 50 years of combined experience handling complicated personal injury claims. We’ve recovered more than $120 million on behalf of our injured clients, and we’re ready to fight for you.
Why Should I Trust Roman Austin Personal Injury Lawyers to Handle My Product Liability Claim in St. Petersburg, FL?
You should be able to expect that the consumer products you purchase won’t contain hidden risks that will harm you. After all, companies that sell products are subject to strict safety regulations. Unfortunately, dangerous products reach consumers all too often.
If you were injured, count on an experienced St. Petersburg personal injury attorney at Roman Austin Personal Injury Lawyers to fight for you. We’ve been recognized among Tampa Bay’s Top Trial Lawyers and also earned an AV-Preeminent and a “10” out of 10 rating from Avvo.
Hire us, and we will:
- Investigate and gather evidence to identify the product defect
- Locate others who have suffered similar injuries
- Hire experts in various industries who can strengthen your claim
- Determine how much compensation you deserve
- Negotiate with the manufacturing company and defense teams
- Fight to protect you in court if needed
Our personal injury lawyers in St. Petersburg are here to discuss your options anytime. Call us today to schedule your free case review.
Are Defective Products a Serious Problem?
Defective products are a serious worldwide problem. In the United States alone, about 40 million people suffer injuries while using products that have been recalled for defects.
The statistics are shocking. Around one-third of all FDA-approved drugs were later found to pose dangers that hadn’t been identified before they were approved for consumer use. 16,623 medical devices were recalled due to defects between 2018 and 2022.
How Much Can I Receive if My St. Petersburg Product Liability Claim Succeeds?
To determine how much your case is worth, our lawyers will first evaluate the details.
The most important of those details include:
- The severity of your injuries
- Whether you’ll suffer a long-term impairment
- Medical treatment costs and other out-of-pocket expenses
- Your doctor’s opinion about your need for ongoing medical care, rehabilitation, and assistance
- How the injury changes your earning potential
- Damage to your quality of life
- Your pain and suffering
- Any ongoing class action litigation or multi-district litigation
- Available settlement funds
Remember that your case is unique. While the insurance company might try to push you into accepting a “standard” settlement, it probably won’t account for your specific losses.
What Types of Damages Are Available to Victims of Dangerous and Defective Products in St. Petersburg, Florida?
The types of damages you walk away with will depend on the actual losses you have experienced due to the accident and injury. In Florida, you can pursue an award that makes you “whole” again after an injury. Your compensation should account for economic damages and non-economic damages.
Depending on your situation, you may deserve compensation for:
- Past and future medical expenses
- Lost wages
- Reduced earning potential
- Physical therapy
- Rehabilitation
- Property damage
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Anxiety
- Depression
- PTSD
- Diminished quality of life
- Physical disfigurement and scarring
- Loss of companionship
Our product liability attorneys in St. Petersburg will identify and calculate the full extent of your damages.
How Much Does it Cost to Hire a Product Liability Lawyer in Florida?
At Roman Austin Personal Injury Lawyers, our fees are contingent on the amount of compensation we recover in your case. When lawyers work on a contingency fee basis, they take a percentage of your settlement or verdict. That way, you can hire a lawyer without worrying about upfront costs.
Can Florida’s Shared Fault Laws Impact My Product Liability Lawsuit?
Yes. You shouldn’t stop fighting for compensation just because someone is blaming you for getting hurt.
Under Florida’s modified comparative negligence law, you can recover damages as long as your share of fault is no more than 50%. If any more blame is allocated to you, you lose your right to compensation. Even if you were only slightly responsible, your damages will be reduced to account for your share of fault.
In product liability cases, allegations of shared fault often involve claims that you were using the product incorrectly. However, remember that manufacturers can be liable if that incorrect use was reasonably foreseeable.
Dangerous Products Can Cause a Variety of Severe Injuries
At Roman Austin Personal Injury Lawyers, we represent injury victims who have suffered all types of injuries, including:
- Broken bones
- Burns
- Facial injuries and scarring
- Concussions
- Dislocations
- Leg and foot injuries
- Soft tissue damage
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Head and neck injuries
- Hand injuries
- Cancer and other diseases
- Internal bleeding
- Organ damage
- Amputations
- Paralysis
- Catastrophic injuries
Some injuries are so dangerous that they prove fatal. Our wrongful death attorneys are here to fight for you if you lost a loved one due to a fatal injury.
Our Attorneys in St. Petersburg Handle All Types of Product Liability Cases
Even the most innocent-seeming product can be dangerous if it’s defective.
We often handle cases involving:
- Electronics, batteries, and chargers
- Pesticides, including Roundup weed killer
- Household appliances
- Prescription medications
- Over-the-counter drugs
- Medical devices
- Children’s toys, car seats, and furniture
- Sporting and recreational equipment
- Vehicles, vehicle parts, and safety equipment
- Cleaning products
- ATVs and recreational vehicles
- Power tools, machinery, and work equipment
- Personal care products, including talcum powder, cosmetics, and sunscreen
Get in touch with our St. Petersburg product liability attorneys if you were injured using a consumer product. We have the skills to help you recover the money you need.
What Do I Have to Prove to Win a Product Liability Case in Florida?
In most personal injury cases, victims must prove negligence to recover damages. Negligence is a legal term that means something like carelessness.
Product liability cases are different. Manufacturers can be held strictly liable for damages even if they weren’t negligent. However, there are some elements that you will have to prove to recover compensation.
Those include:
- The defendant was somehow responsible for getting the product onto the market
- The product was defective
- The defect made the product unreasonably dangerous for consumer use
- You were using the product as intended, or in a reasonably foreseeable, yet incorrect, manner
- You were injured by the defective product
- You suffered damages
Three forms of product defects exist: manufacturing, design, and marketing defects.
Manufacturing Defects
Manufacturing defects happen because of mistakes during the assembly and manufacturing process. They typically impact only a batch of products or even a single product. That can make it tough to prove how the product was defective.
Maybe a prescription drug was contaminated. Maybe the wrong screw was used in assembling a children’s bicycle. Manufacturing companies can be held liable for injuries resulting from defects caused by deviation from the product’s intended design.
Design Defects
When a product has a design defect, it’s dangerous regardless of whether a mistake was made. Design defects impact an entire product line.
When courts are determining whether damages are available in design defect cases, they consider a few different factors:
- The value of the product as designed
- Whether a safer alternative design exists and is reasonable from a cost perspective
- Whether the product will function as intended using the safer design
- The severity of the risk as designed and how the safer design might mitigate that risk
In general, courts use a cost-benefit analysis in many cases involving products that suffer from design defects.
Marketing Defects
With a marketing defect, there really isn’t much of a problem with the product. Some products simply have risks even if no mistakes occur and the safest design is used. Manufacturing companies must warn you about those risks. When they don’t, they can be held liable for failure to warn or marketing defects.
How Long Do I Have to File a Product Liability Lawsuit in Florida?
In personal injury cases based on negligence, victims generally have two years from the date of an injury to file a lawsuit in Florida. However, other cases may be subject to a four-year statute of limitations.
If you miss the applicable deadline, you completely lose your right to recover any compensation at all. When in doubt, don’t wait to consult an experienced attorney.
Contact a Trusted St. Petersburg Product Liability Lawyer for a Free Case Review
Our team at Roman Austin Personal Injury Lawyers is dedicated to helping injured clients recover the full compensation they deserve. Contact our St. Petersburg product liability lawyers today at (727) 787-2500 to learn how we can stand up and fight for you.