A product that fails during normal use usually points to a design that should have been safer, a manufacturing error, or a warning that should have been on the box. Williams & Gasparian Law represents people injured by defective vehicles, appliances, tools, medical devices, and consumer goods across Los Angeles County as well as the rest of California.
For a defective product you usually do not have to prove the company was careless, only that the product was defective and the defect hurt you. What you do have to do is keep the product. Do not throw it away, return it, or let anyone repair it.
Types of Product Cases We Handle
These are the most common.
- Vehicle defects. Airbags, seat belts, brakes, fuel systems, tires, and designs prone to rollover.
- Batteries and electronics. Phones, e-bikes, scooters, and chargers that overheat or catch fire.
- Household appliances. Space heaters, dryers, pressure cookers, and microwaves.
- Power tools and machinery. Missing guards, failed shutoffs, and kickback.
- Children's products. Cribs, car seats, furniture that tips, and toys with small parts or toxic materials.
- Medical devices and implants. Hip or knee implants, surgical mesh, and infusion pumps.
- Medications. Drugs sold without adequate warnings about known risks.
What You May Be Able to Recover
California law lets an injured person claim two kinds of losses.
Economic losses
- Medical treatment so far, and the cost of care you will need later
- Wages you lost while you could not work
- Reduced ability to earn if the injury is lasting
- Property destroyed by the failure, such as a home damaged by fire
- Other expenses the injury caused
Non-economic losses
- Physical pain
- Emotional distress
- Loss of the activities you used to enjoy
- Scarring, disfigurement, or permanent disability
Product cases usually require an engineer or other technical witness to examine the item and explain the defect. That is another reason to keep it exactly as it was. We do not quote case values on this site.
California Rules That Affect Product Cases
- Three kinds of defect
- A design defect means the product was dangerous as designed. A manufacturing defect means this particular item was not made the way it was designed. A warning defect means the maker knew of a risk and did not adequately warn about it.
- Strict liability
- California adopted strict liability for defective products in 1963, before any other state. A manufacturer, distributor, or retailer that sells a defective product is responsible for the harm it causes without proof of negligence.
- Design defect tests
- California courts use two tests. Under the consumer expectations test, the product failed to perform as safely as an ordinary user would expect. Under the risk-benefit test, once you show that the design caused your injury, the burden moves to the manufacturer, which must prove that the design's advantages are greater than its dangers. A defect can be established under either test.
- Who is responsible
- Everyone in the chain of distribution: the manufacturer, a component maker, the importer, the distributor, and the store that sold it. A product made overseas can be pursued through the companies that brought it to market here.
- Misuse
- Using a product in a way the maker could reasonably foresee is covered, even if the manual said otherwise. Unforeseeable misuse can reduce or bar recovery under comparative fault.
- Recalls
- A recall is helpful evidence, but a claim does not depend on one. Many defective products are never recalled.
- Deadline to file
- Two years from the injury. When the connection between the product and the injury was not apparent at first, the deadline may run from the date you discovered it.
What Happens After You Call
Five stages, from the first phone call to the day the case closes.
A free consultation
You tell us what happened. We tell you whether you have a case and what we would do first. No charge, no obligation to hire us.
Investigation
We gather the police or incident report, photos, witness statements, medical records, and video. When a case calls for it we bring in accident reconstructionists or treating physicians.
Dealing with the insurance companies
Once you hire us, insurers deal with us instead of you. We handle the calls, the letters, and the requests for recorded statements. You focus on treatment.
Negotiation or a lawsuit
When your treatment has gone far enough to know what your losses are, we send a demand. If the insurer will not pay a fair amount, we file a lawsuit and prepare the case as if it will be tried.
Resolution
Most cases settle. Some go to trial. Either way, we explain every offer to you in plain terms, and the decision to accept or reject it is yours.
Questions People Ask Us
Usually not. Under California's strict liability rule, you have to show the product was defective, that you were using it in a reasonably foreseeable way, and that the defect caused your injury. How careful the company was is not the question.
Yes. The importer, the distributor, and the retailer that sold it in California are all in the chain of distribution. Each can be held responsible. We pursue the companies that can be reached here.
Not necessarily, but it is harder. Photos, receipts, the packaging, medical records describing the injury, and other examples of the same product can still support a claim. Call us before you discard anything else.
A recall is evidence that the maker recognized a problem, which helps. It does not settle the case by itself, and a recall notice you never received does not bar your claim.
Two years from the injury in most cases. If you only later learned that a product caused the injury, the deadline may run from that discovery, but the safest course is to call as soon as you suspect a product was involved.
We work on a contingency fee. You pay no fee up front, and our fee is a percentage of what we recover for you. If we recover nothing, you owe no attorney fee. You owe nothing for case costs either.
Talk to a Products Liability Lawyer in Glendale
If a defective product injured you anywhere in California, keep the product and call us or send the form. We will review what happened at no charge.
