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New York Product Liability Lawyer Serving Plaintiffs In Schenectady

Consumers in Schenectady should be able to shop for a new car, pick up a prescription at the local pharmacy, buy a new piece of furniture, or have a routine surgery without worrying that a product defect will cause serious or life-threatening injuries. Yet personal injuries from defective products occur more often than you might expect. In these cases, the injured party may be eligible to file a products liability lawsuit. An experienced Schenectady products liability claims lawyer at our firm can discuss your case with you today.

3 Types Of Schenectady
Products Liability Defects

There are three major types of product liability defects in Schenectady, which concern how and when the defect occurred in the product. The Cornell Legal Information Institute (LII) provides information about these product defects and how they give rise to claims:

Design defect: There is something wrong or defective about the design of the product or one of its parts. In other words, even if the product never gets made, or regardless of how carefully and well the product is made, it will have a defect.
Manufacturing defect: There is a defect that occurred when the product was being made or manufactured. There is nothing wrong with the product’s design, but something went wrong during its manufacture or the manufacture of one of its parts.
Marketing defect: There is a defect in the way a product was marketed or labeled. This type of defect is often known as a “failure to warn.” A company can be liable if it fails to warn about dangers associated with use of the product, including dangers linked to the intended use of the product as well as foreseeable uses.

Common Product Liability Claims
In Schenectady, NY

Now that you know about the three general types of products liability lawsuits that you may be able to file, it is important to know more about product liability claims that often arise in Schenectady, New York. There are a wide variety of accidents and injuries that can occur due to product defects, and our Schenectady product liability attorneys routinely help injured plaintiffs with many different kinds of claims. The following are categories of common types of product liability lawsuits that we can handle:

Food contamination and USDA recalls;
Dangerous medical devices, such as defective knee or hip implants;
Dangerous drugs, including a variety of prescription and over-the-counter medications, such as valsartan or certain types of birth control pills;
Defective machine parts that cause a workplace injury;
Defective furniture, including dressers and cabinets that can pose tip-over injury risks;
Harmful personal products that can cause cancer, such as talcum powder;
Dangerous household products, like laundry soap pods or Roundup weed killer; and
Defective auto parts, such as defective airbags or brake lines.

Even if you do not see your type of case on the list here, you should know that these are only examples of common types of products liability claims in Schenectady. If you or someone you love was injured after using a defective product, our Schenectady products liability lawyers can discuss your options for filing a claim.

Schenectady Product Liability
Statute Of Limitations

Under New York law, the statute of limitations for product liability claims is three years. Accordingly, a plaintiff must file a lawsuit within three years from the date that the defective product caused the injury. If a plaintiff does not file within this specific time window, the claim is likely to become time-barred. Once a claim is time-barred, the plaintiff cannot file a lawsuit to seek compensation, regardless of the merits of the claim.

Comparative Fault &
Schenectady Products Liability Lawsuits

What happens if you are partially to blame for the injury? For example, what if you failed to follow the instructions for putting together or using a particular product, and your own error led the design or manufacturing defect to result in a more severe injury? In short, the defendant can use comparative fault or contributory negligence as a defense to avoid paying a full damages award to a plaintiff in a products liability lawsuit.

New York follows what is known as a pure comparative fault law, which means that a plaintiff is never barred from recovery (as is true in some states) even if that plaintiff bears some of the fault for the injury. Rather, the plaintiff’s damages award will be diminished by her portion or percentage of fault.

Contact A Schenectady
Products Liability Attorney

Were you injured after using a defective or dangerous product? A Schenectady product liability attorney can begin working on your case today. Contact Powers & Santola, LLP for more information about how we can help you.

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When someone injures you, your life gets turned upside down. Suddenly, you may face a ton of medical bills. You may be unable to work or help out around the home. Others may need to care for you around the clock. Nothing is the same.

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