Defective Product Injury Lawyer in New Mexico

TYPES OF PRODUCT LIABILITY CLAIMS

Defective Medical Devices

Medical devices must be approved by the FDA before use.  However, it may take years before certain defects are discovered, and the defective product may already have caused severe and often long-lasting side effects or injuries to the victim(s).  For example, some types of breast implants, birth control implants, joint replacements, or devices have been later found to have caused negative side effects in those who used these devices.

Dangerous Drugs

The FDA also regulates prescription medications, and it must approve any medication before it can be prescribed by a doctor.  However, as with some medical devices, it may take months or years of use before dangerous side effects are discovered and traced to the medication. Dangerous drugs may be on the market for years before these side effects are connected to the medication, during which time countless others may suffer harm from taking the medication.  Examples of dangerous drugs include various antidepressants, antipsychotics, certain birth control pills, and certain blood pressure medications.  If you are harmed by a dangerous drug, the pharmaceutical company that manufactured the drug may be liable for your injuries in addition to the doctor who prescribed the medication to you.

Defective Children’s Toys

Children are often vulnerable to defective products, as they may be unable to read warning signs or take precautions to protect themselves.  Some toys may be defectively designed or made in a dangerous manner such that the toy becomes a choking, suffocation, or strangulation hazard.  A product may also fall over and trap the child or may have harmful substances in them that harm a child, such as the lead content in certain types of paint. 

Vehicle Defects

Vehicles are a common source of product liability claims.  Vehicles sometimes have manufacturing or design flaws that make them dangerous for the driver and others on the road.  Given the size and force of a vehicle, manufacturers must ensure every vehicle is safe for consumers with no design or manufacturing defects.  Many defects may go unnoticed by the vehicle’s owner until they cause accident, such as defective brakes, fuel systems, or power steering.  Further, other vehicle defects may only become apparent in the event of an accident, such as a defective fuel tank that may explode after a collision has already occurred. 

HOW IS LIABILITY DECIDED IN A PRODUCT LIABILITY CASE?

Under New Mexico law, manufacturers and other involved parties may be held strictly liable for a defective product that causes injuries to consumers. Strict liability means that a victim will generally not have to prove the other party owed any duty of care or breached that duty. Unlike most personal injury cases, which generally only require a victim to prove the elements of a negligence claim, your New Mexico defective product lawsuit may have to prove slightly different elements when pursuing a strict liability claim against a manufacturer or other party for a defective product, including:

The Product Was Defective

This element is typically the most difficult and complex element to prove in a product liability claim.  First, the victim must prove that the product was defective by proving the presence of a manufacturing or design defect or a failure to warn against dangers in using the product.  This process varies based on the product. 

For example, to prove the product contained a design defect, the victim must generally prove that the product could have been designed more safely at a reasonable cost.  This process may involve showing that a safer design was available at the time of production, such as by showing alternate designs that were ultimately rejected by the manufacturer that would have produced a safer product.

Further, manufacturers may still not be liable for a dangerously defective product if avoiding such defect may have been overly expensive or would have overly impacted the product from functioning as intended.  For instance, a manufacturer may not have been required to include additional safety precautions, such as protective guards for a table saw, when those precautions would make the product more expensive to produce than it could be sold for, or if such guards would prevent the table saw from performing the purpose it is used for.

Finally, manufacturers may not have been required to adopt alternative design features to increase a product’s safety when they could instead simply include a warning label informing consumers of the risks associated with the use of the product.

The Victim Suffered Injuries

Next, the victim must show that they suffered injuries, such as burns, broken limbs, long-lasting health effects, or other negative side effects.

The Victim’s Injuries Were Caused by the Defect

The victim must still prove that the product’s defect actually caused the victim’s injuries.  For example, if a victim suffered injuries in a car accident, and the victim’s vehicle contained a defective fuel tank but that tank did not rupture and was not the cause of any of the victim’s injuries, the vehicle’s manufacturer will generally not be liable for those injuries.

The Victim’s Injuries Were Foreseeable

Finally, the victim must prove that the injury was reasonably foreseeable.  A manufacturer will generally not be held liable for injuries that were not reasonably foreseeable, for instance, if the victim was misusing the product. For example, the manufacturer may not be liable when a victim was injured while using an electric tool in the rain despite the product’s warning that it should not be used in the rain or around water.

WHY YOU SHOULD HIRE AN EXPERIENCED PRODUCT INJURY LAWYER

Hiring an experienced New Mexico product injury lawyer is often crucial to successfully pursuing compensation for a defective product. Product liability injuries are often highly technical and complex, much more so than many other personal injury claims. These claims may often require the use of expert witnesses such as engineers to prove the existence of a design defect in the product’s blueprints and may require extensive investigation and research by your lawyer.

Your attorney may:

• Investigate how the product was designed and developed by the manufacturer
• Determine whether previous complaints have been made by others who were similarly injured using the same product
• Investigate how thorough the manufacturer was in providing warning labels about any dangers associated with using the product
• Review the manufacturer’s marketing materials to determine if they encouraged any misuse of the product
• Explore how the manufacturer has previously responded to complaints about a product, such as by issuing a recall notice or adding a warning label to the product, as failing to take any of these remedial actions may be evidence that the manufacturer did not adequately safeguard against injuries from a product
• Help you determine the value of your claim

Learn More: Why Hiring a Lawyer Will Help Your Case

GET A CASE EVALUATION FROM ZINDA LAW GROUP

At Zinda Law Group, our experienced New Mexico lawyers are here to help you with your claim. We assist our clients in pursuing the maximum compensation they may be entitled to after they or a loved one have been injured by a defective product.

Call (800) 863-5312 today for a free consultation with one of our New Mexico product liability lawyers.  You will not pay anything unless we can win your defective product claim.  That’s our No Win, No Fee Guarantee.

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