Defective Products

Product manufacturers have a responsibility to produce safe products. If you or your loved one suffered an injury due to a defective or unsafe product, you have the right to seek compensation. We have experience representing clients suffering from injuries resulting from all types of products, from simple household items to complex machinery. We also have significant experience representing clients injured as a result of unguarded machinery, defective ladders and defective auto components. When a motor vehicle component malfunctions, the safety of your vehicle, which you depend on, may be compromised and you could be seriously injured.

WHY YOU WERE INJURED BY AN UNSAFE PRODUCT AND WHAT ITS DESIGNER KNEW TO DO BUT FAILED TO DO TO INCREASE COMPANY PROFITS AT THE EXPENSE OF YOUR PERSONAL SAFETY

One of the most overlooked sources of compensation when a workman has suffered an on the job injury is in the area of defective products. Too many injured people limit the scope of their recovery simply to worker's compensation payments. They fail to look at the broad picture and sometimes that's through a feeling of guilt. They feel that they were responsible for causing the injury, especially when dealing with machinery and equipment. Machine builders have long known that they must ELIMINATE THE HAZARD. That's job one. If the hazard is eliminated, there is no way that the worker can be injured. An illustration of eliminating the hazard in construction would be to build an automobile highway overpass above a railroad track. When that is done, the hazard is eliminated and you cannot have an automobile/train wreck.

When the hazard cannot be eliminated by designing it out, engineers and designers drop back to the less effective method of attempting to PROPERLY GUARD a machine. An example would be to make it impossible for the worker's hands to be inside the machine when the machine is operating. Since the Civil War manufacturers of machines have known about interlocks. You use interlocks everyday. The simplest illustration is the button on the inside of your refrigerator that turns off the light when the door is closed. When machines are equipped with interlocks, the power is off when the machine's guard is up. When the guard comes down, there is no "nip point" where a hand or foot can be grabbed and pulled into the machine and injured because a properly designed guard prevents injury. When it works, guarding is good. We have all seen those gates (guards) that come down and block your car from getting on the railroad tracks and in front of the train. But the guard must be adequate and that is often where it falls short. Injury occurs when the machine has not been properly designed with adequate guards or with guard a that can been easily removed by simply turning a few screws. Guards should have an interlock to prevent the operation of a machine when the guard has been removed. Workers who have been injured by an unguarded machine often feel that it is their negligence that injured them when in fact it was the negligence of the manufacturer who had a duty to eliminate the hazard or adequately guard the hazard and prevent the injury. Believe us, they know how. The reason that they are not eliminating the hazard is simply the fact that they are trying to save money by not building in safety and placing more value on profits than they do on your life or limb.

Lastly, when they cannot design out the hazard or guard against injury by the hazard, a manufacturer falls back on the least effective safety factor which is WARNING ABOUT THE RISK. But the warning must be effective and adequate. Many, many lives are lost each year by inadequate warnings. An example would be no gate at the railroad crossing but a simple black and white cross stating "Railroad Crossing" with no bells, whistles or lights. Or the use of a warning sign near electricity that is simply not worded strongly enough so that a worker can appreciate and fully understand the hazard. Rather than simply put up a sign that says "Danger." The sign should go further and explain that death or injury will result if you touch their wire or get to close enough for the electricity to arc and reach out to you.

GOOD EXPERTS MAKE YOUR CASE

These recognized, scientific safety principles are well known to the experts that we employ who assist us in turning a case that the uncreative mind would consider hopeless into a winner by explaining how you should have been protected to a jury in such a simplified manner through the application of known safety science, that they will react in your favor. Understanding that all people make mistakes but their ability to make mistakes can be designed out of the product or machine in the first place so that a lapse of memory on your part will not injure you permanently or take your life away prematurely from your loved ones is the job of a good expert and we know where to find them to help you.

If you or a loved one has been injured due to a defective or dangerous product, call us at once and retain that product as that is your evidence. We will meet with you at NO CHARGE to discuss a possible claim for damages.

New Website Offers "One-Stop Shop" for Recalls:

The federal government now offers a "one-stop shop" web site for tracking recalls of defective products. The site, available at www.recalls.gov, links to recall information posted on the web sites of six federal agencies, the Coast Guard, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (Defective Products), the Department of Agriculture, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Food and Drug Administration (Defective Drugs), and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (Defective Motor Vehicles).

Telephone: (601) 952-0799

We serve clients in the Jackson Metro area and the communities of Bolton, Brandon, Byram, Clinton, Edwards, Madison, Pearl, Raymond, Richland, Ridgeland, Terry, and Utica. We also serve clients in the counties of Copiah, Hinds, Leake, Madison, Rankin, Scott, Warren and Yazoo, as well as many others throughout the State of Mississippi.