Trusted Products Liability Attorneys Helping the Injured in Fort Collins

Millions of people are injured each year by dangerous and defective products. These products can cause devastating injuries, including death, and turn lives upside down. At the Tenge Law Firm, we have decades of experience holding manufacturers accountable for the defective and dangerous products they release into the marketplace. To check whether you have a valid legal claim, contact us today.

Product Defects

Most products are safe. Nevertheless, dangerous products cause hundreds of millions of dollars in damage every year. Generally, an unreasonably dangerous product has the following defects:

• Defective design. A design might be faulty. For example, an automobiles gas tank might explode too easily if the car is hit in a certain spot. With a different design, the tank might have maintained its integrity.
• Manufacturing defect. These occur when the product is not made according to the design. For example, a product might be put together hastily or sloppily, rendering it unreasonably dangerous.
• Inadequate warning or instructions. Some products require detailed instructions to work properly. For example, you need to install a child’s booster seat properly otherwise it can fail in an accident. Other products need warnings so that consumers can use them safely. When instructions or warnings are deficient, you might be able to bring a lawsuit.

Defective Automobile Parts

Every year, car manufacturers recall millions of cars for defective parts, including:

• Steering columns
• Airbags
• Brakes
• Seatbelts
• Tires

In fact, any component part of a vehicle can malfunction and cause the vehicle to spin out of control, leading to a collision and serious injuries.

Automobiles are subject to strict government safety standards. Nevertheless, compliance with these standards does not necessarily insulate the manufacturer from immunity for your injuries. For example, a court might find that an automobile part satisfies safety standard but that a better design was safer and equally cost-effective, so it should have been used instead.

Defective Prescription Drugs

We also see many claims for dangerous or defective drugs. Of course, the fact that the drug has dangerous side effects does not necessarily render the product “defective.” Many drugs would never make it to the marketplace if they were required to pose no side effects.

However, tainted or otherwise improperly manufactured drugs can become defective. Defective drugs may also lack adequate warnings or present dangerous side effects that outweigh their benefits. Many popular but dangerous drugs have made recent headlines, including:

• Accutane®
• Avandia®
• Celebrex®
• Levaquin®
• VIOXX®

If you have begun taking a prescription drug and noticed negative side effects, such as cancer, infertility, depression, or a heart attack, consult a products liability lawyer in Fort Collins today.

Defective Household Items

Many common items around the home can also be unreasonably dangerous depending on how they were designed, manufactured, or marketed. Concerned consumers should check the product recall list maintained by the Consumer Product Safety Commission here. For example, so far in 2018, the following items faced recalls:

• GE Lighting LED Tube Lamps (shock and electrocution hazards)
• Keyera Energy Propane Gas Tanks (fire and explosion hazards)
• Play and Park Structures Playground Slides (entrapment hazards)
• American Honda Recreational Off-Highway Vehicles (fire and burn hazards)
• Regency Fireplace Products Gas Stove Fireplaces (explosion and injury hazards)
• Harbor Freight Tools Chainsaws (serious injury hazards)
• Munchkin Waterpede Bath Toys (choking hazards)/li>
• Polaris Ranger XP Recreational Off-Highway Vehicles (injury hazards)

An item does not need a recall to qualify as unreasonably dangerous. However, a recall certainly serves of some proof that the product is defective. Even if a manufacturer does not know that its product is defective, you can still receive compensation if you were injured.

Injuries Caused by Dangerous Products

When a product malfunctions, our clients end up in the emergency room with devastating bodily injuries, including:

• Burns
• Abrasions, cuts, and lacerations
• Broken bones
• Traumatic brain injuries
• Head injuries
• Joint injuries
• Spinal cord injury
• Internal organ damage

Emotional distress can be equally as serious. For example, burn injury victims report feeling intense despair, fear, helplessness, and hopelessness. When emotional distress manifests in lack of sleep and increased anxiety, a victim’s physical injuries can actually worsen.

Some injuries are so serious that victims tragically succumb, leaving surviving family members confused about where they will turn and what they will do. These wrongful death cases require an experienced Fort Collins products liability attorney to hold manufacturers accountable for their defective products.

Our lawyers encourage all injured victims to quickly receive medical treatment, which often improves their chances of recovery. Remember to follow your doctor’s advice to the letter and seek a second medical opinion if you do not believe that your condition has improved.

Compensation for Your Injuries

At Tenge Law Firm, our clients have received compensation for the following:

• Past, present, and future medical treatment
• Past, present, and future lost wages
• Property damage, such as damage to a vehicle involved in a collision
• Pain and suffering
• Mental anguish
• Physical impairment
• Disfigurement
• Loss of consortium

Not every client qualifies for all of the above, and the amount you can receive will depend on the circumstances. Generally, someone with more serious physical injuries (like paralysis or permanent brain injury) will qualify for more compensation.

When a defective product kills a loved one, surviving family members can also receive compensation in a wrongful death lawsuit. For example, you might be able to receive money to replace:

• Lost wages and benefits your loved one could have earned
• Lost love, care, companionship, and instruction

The estate can also receive compensation for burial expenses, funeral costs, and any medical bills incurred to treat your loved one’s final illness or injuries.

How a Product Liability Lawyer in Fort Collins Can Help

Product liability cases are some of the most complicated that we bring here at the Tenge Law Firm. Whether a product is defective is usually outside the experience of a layperson, and it takes time and legal know-how to gather the necessary evidence. Many of our cases require the use of an expert witness, who can identify the defect and testify as to how the product could have been manufactured, designed, or marketed safely.

To start your case, please schedule a consultation with us today. Our Fort Collins products liability lawyers can identify who to sue and how much compensation you might receive. Call (970) 212-4777 or submit our contact form online.