If you are injured by a defective product, then you may have a compensation claim. It is, however, vital to address your claim in the right way. Here is some guidance.
You need to be able to detail your injury and its consequences
This is true for any liability case. Judges need to know what consequences you experienced in order to judge how much the defendant needs to pay to put them right. Ideally, you should keep a photographic record of your injuries, plus details of any treatment you received. You should also record all expenses related to your injury, even incidental ones (like transport to the hospital) and be ready to explain how it has impacted your life in general.
If you are (also) claiming for damage to property, then keep the property if at all possible. You may need it as evidence. If you can’t keep it, then make sure to take full photos and/or videos of it. Also, try to find some “before” pictures for comparison. If you have to buy a replacement for it, keep the receipt.
You need to be very clear about how the defective product caused your injury
Defective product injuries generally boil down to one or more of three main issues. These are defective design, defective manufacture and inadequate instructions for use. It is important to be aware of this last category as it could mean that you can make a claim even if your injury was caused by your incorrect use of the product.
You need to work out who to sue
This is not necessarily as straightforward as it may sound, but lawyers are trained to deal with this.
Why it’s important to speak to a lawyer about defective product injuries
It’s generally advisable to channel legal claims through a lawyer. That’s the whole point of the profession. It’s particularly important to channel claims about defective product injuries through a lawyer. There are two reasons for this. Firstly, this area of the law can be particularly complex and secondly you are likely to find yourself up against businesses that will be using lawyers.
