Maine Defective Products Attorneys

Manufacturers that sell products in the U.S. are saddled with countless regulations. This may seem ridiculous, but these regulations are there for a reason. When a brake manufacturer or a food company cuts corners, you could end up in a car accident or poisoned.

Manufacturing laws are intended to protect you from the consequences of defective products. When these laws fail, you may need the help of a Maine defective product attorney to protect your rights.

Do you believe that a defective product was the cause of the serious injuries that you suffered? Contact the product liability law firm of Gideon Asen today to schedule a free consultation with an experienced personal injury lawyer.

Maine Defective Product Laws

State laws in Maine assign liability to anyone who sells goods with product defects that are unreasonably dangerous for the user of that product. This can potentially apply to anyone in the supply chain process who was involved in creating the defect or who was aware that the product was defective when they sold it.

This law allows you to file a lawsuit or an insurance claim against the liable party. An experienced defective product attorney from Gideon Asen can help you navigate that process as easily as possible. This will give you a good chance of getting as much compensation as the law allows.

Who to Sue in a Maine Product Liability Lawsuit

One of the most important decisions you will need to make during a product liability lawsuit is who you will file a lawsuit against. Assuming the product was defective from the start, several people sold the product before it reached you. Any or all of them could potentially be liable for your injuries. Your defective product attorney will help determine who the at-fault parties are in a lawsuit.

The Manufacturer

Typically, your Maine product liability attorney will focus on the manufacturer. Product defects usually appear during the design or manufacturing process. In both of these situations, the manufacturer is the most liable party.

Often, cases against a manufacturer are easier to litigate than cases against other parties. One reason for this is that defective products rarely harm only a single person. If your product is defective, dozens or hundreds of people may have been harmed by the same defect.

Your defective product attorney can investigate whether other lawsuits have been filed by people injured in the same way as you. If there are similar lawsuits, the facts of those cases can prove valuable for supporting your claim.

Similarly, defective products usually result in product recalls. While a product recall limits the liability of the manufacturer, it is still liable if you were unaware of the recall due to no fault of your own.

Conveniently, by issuing a recall, the manufacturer admits to the defect, making it so that your Maine defective product lawyer doesn’t need to prove the product you owned was flawed.

The biggest challenge with suing a manufacturer occurs when your defective product was a fluke or when you were the first person injured. In this case, your attorney may need to hire experts in the industry to prove that the product was defective.

The Distributor

A lawsuit against a distributor typically occurs when a product is damaged in transport. Imagine, for example, that you purchased a jug of milk. The manufacturer safely bottled the milk and accurately placed a sell-by date on it. This absolves the manufacturer of liability.

Unfortunately, the distributor transported the milk in a non-refrigerated truck, causing it to curdle. This is where the product defect appeared. As long as the distributor didn’t advise the retailer of its negligent actions, it sold the milk in good faith, assuming it was safe.

In a situation like that, if you got severely sick from drinking that milk, you could file a lawsuit against the distributor. Your attorney would need to investigate the transportation process to gather evidence showing the distributor was the negligent party.

Conveniently, a manufacturer and the retailer might assist with this investigation because the distributor is potentially damaging their reputations.

Lawsuits against distributors are much less common than lawsuits against manufacturers. Distributors usually take care when storing and transporting products, but negligence can occur at any time.

The Retailer

The final link in the chain of sales is the retailer. There are two common situations where you might file a lawsuit against a retailer.

The first situation is when the retailer damages the product. This typically occurs because the product is stored or handled poorly.

It can also occur when a retailer sells a product that they know is damaged or reasonably suspect might be damaged.

For example, if the retailer sells a floor model or used product without warning the buyer, they would be liable if it was defective. Similarly, if the manufacturer issued a recall for a product, the retailer would be liable if they didn’t remove it from the shelves immediately.

What to Do After Being Injured by a Defective Product in Maine

If you suffer a serious injury due to a defective product, you can improve your chances of getting fair compensation by taking the following steps.

Document Your Injuries

This is more important with product liability claims than it would be for something like a pedestrian accident. In the latter, there are probably witnesses who observed the accident and cameras that recorded what happened.

However, when you suffer an injury from a defective product, there is likely no one around to witness the injury. If you don’t document the accident scene and your injuries, this means you have no meaningful evidence to support your claim.

Unless it isn’t safe to do so, you should take pictures of any injuries you suffered, the accident scene, and the state of the product immediately after you get hurt. That evidence could be critical to proving that a product defect caused your injuries.

Furthermore, you should call 911 right away. Even if your injuries don’t require a trip to the hospital, the EMTs will evaluate your injury and create a record of the harm you suffered. Similarly, you should get evaluated by a doctor as quickly as possible and preserve any medical records.

Contact Gideon Asen Right Away

Product liability claims are complicated. Our legal team needs to investigate your injuries, research the product, and determine who is liable for any injuries you suffered. This takes time, and time is not on your side in a personal injury claim.

The more time that passes, the more financial harm you will suffer. While you may be able to wait a few weeks or even a few months to get compensation, eventually, your financial situation may become unbearable. The sooner you hire our law firm, the more quickly we can work to resolve your case.

FAQ

How Long Can I Wait to File a Product Liability Lawsuit in Maine?

Maine has one of the most generous statutes of limitations of any state in the U.S. You have up to six years after suffering an injury to file a lawsuit against the liable party. Your Maine product liability lawyer may need a significant portion of that time to gather evidence if you have a very complicated case.

Is My Product Liability Case Likely to Go to Trial?

No. Most product liability cases end with a settlement. Typically, trials only happen when there is no other choice. Once all of the evidence has been collected, most experienced attorneys can determine roughly how a jury would decide if the case were to go to trial. That expected outcome becomes the basis of any negotiations.

At Gideon Asen, we have extensive experience negotiating with manufacturers in product liability claims. We can determine how much money is a fair amount for the injuries that you suffered and will only accept reasonable offers.

If I Was Aware of a Recall Before I Was Injured, Can I Still Get Compensation?

Typically, if you are aware that a recall exists for a product, you can’t file a claim for any injuries you suffered by using the product. At that point, you are aware that the product is dangerous and that you shouldn’t be using it, making you liable for your injuries.

Contact Our Skilled Maine Defective Products Attorneys Today

Were you injured by a defective product in Maine? Contact Gideon Asen as soon as possible to schedule a free consultation.