If you or a loved one suffered injuries or died as a result of a faulty product, contact our Michigan product liability lawyers for a free consultation. We’ll help you understand your legal rights and ensure you have the support you need if you want to pursue legal action. 

Product Liability Lawyers Aren’t Afraid to Fight Big Corporations

Fieger Law stands up to large corporations who sell dangerously defective products that put consumers like you in harm’s way. Product manufacturers have a responsibility to sell safe products, and it is our goal to ensure they take that responsibility seriously, even when it means we have to take them to the courtroom.

Since 1950, our firm has fought for the wrongfully injured, no matter the size of the opposition or case complexity. If a defective product seriously injures you or a loved one, our product liability lawyers want to know about it.

Product Liability Law in the U.S.

Manufacturers in the U.S. are legally obligated to ensure their products are safe for consumers and clearly label potential risks. If they fail to meet these standards, they can be held legally responsible for the costs of consumers’ injuries.

You can typically hold a seller or manufacturer liable under the following concepts of liability:

• Strict Liability: The manufacturer is responsible for any harm caused by a faulty product, whether or not negligence occurred. The consumer needs to show that the product was defective, that it caused harm, and that the defect was there when the product was sold.
• Negligence: This happens when a manufacturer negligently creates or labels a product, leading to consumer injuries. The victim must show that the manufacturer didn’t do their job correctly, which resulted in injury.
• Breach of Warranty: This refers to promises a manufacturer makes about a product. The manufacturer can be held responsible if the product doesn’t live up to these promises and someone gets hurt. This includes specific promises (express warranties) and general expectations of buying a product (implied warranties).

Different Types of Defective Products

A product can become dangerously defective when designed, manufactured, or marketed incorrectly. To this end, practically any product can be dangerous if the manufacturer is careless or intentionally negligent.

However, several product types tend to come up in recalls more often than others.

• Auto Part: Each year, thousands of vehicles are recalled for various reasons, some of which may be due to dangerous defects. Takata airbags and Toyota accelerators are just two of the many auto defects in national and international headlines in recent years. You can trust us to spearhead your case if you sustained injuries due to a defective auto part, even if we have to go up against one of the largest automakers in the world.
• Prescription Drug: The only things recalled more often than auto parts are prescription drugs and off-the-shelf medications. Did you take medication to improve your health but now suffer because of it? Call Fieger Law to stand up to Big Pharma for you. We can help you with cases involving recognized drugs like Zoloft, Zantac, and many others.
• Medical Device: When a medical device is designed poorly, it can cause serious patient injuries or deaths. Our law firm can help you with all sorts of defective medical product claims, such as faulty intravenous filters (IVF), metal hip-on-hip implants, spinal cord stimulators, and more.
• Power Tool: Most consumers know that a power tool can be dangerous, but they have the right to expect one to be safe when used as instructed. Throughout the years, many cases have involved power tools being far more dangerous to consumers than advertised. The resulting injuries are due to marketing defects, such as misleading or missing instructions.
• Piece of Furniture: In recent years, there has been a string of product recalls due to tip-over dangers. Certain IKEA brand dressers have mostly been at the center of these recalls. Were you or your child hurt due to a poorly designed piece of furniture, like a dresser that topples over when the top drawer is opened? Let us hear from you to see how we can help.

How Does a Product Become Defective?

To prove that a dangerous defective product caused your injuries or illness, Fieger Law needs to dig into the “how” and “why.” In particular, we want to ask what happened to make the product you were using dangerous and how it could have been prevented if the manufacturer had been more careful.

We can establish that the product manufacturer was negligent in the duty they owe to all consumers to only sell safe final products, especially when used as intended or instructed. There are essentially three main ways that products can be considered defective:

• Design: When a product is dangerous at conception, it is defective by design. The exploding Takata airbags that triggered the largest auto recall in history were defective by design because of the unstable chemical reagent used in the inflation device, causing a reaction that never should have been used in the first place.
• Manufacturing: When an error occurs between the point of product design and sale or shipping, the product can become defective by manufacturing. For example, if a batch of ladders were sold with a missing lock mechanism, they would all be dangerous to use due to a mistake during the manufacturing process.
• Marketing: When the marketing or instructional material provided with a product is dangerously misleading, a product can become defective by marketing. For example, if a power tool was sold with no instruction manual, it would be difficult for someone to use it without putting themselves at risk of injury.

While proving when a product became defective might seem like a tall order for the average attorney, you should remember that Fieger Law in Michigan is comprised of exceptional legal professionals. Together with our network of experts—such as medical doctors and mechanical engineers—we can build a strong argument and confidently prove liability beyond a doubt.

Types of Product Liability Cases We Handle

Our team at Fieger Law handles a wide range of product liability and defective product cases. If you have been injured by any of the following, we can help.

Acetaminophen

For decades, pregnant women were told that acetaminophen was safe to use as a pain reliever and fever reducer. However, growing evidence shows that babies who are exposed to acetaminophen in the womb have a 3.62 times higher risk of developing autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Our goal is to get maximum compensation for families affected by ASD caused by acetaminophen.

Automotive Product Liability Cases

One of the most common product liability claims involves injuries caused by defective vehicles or vehicle parts. These claims may involve:

• Seat Belts: Though seat belts are supposed to protect us from harm in crashes, they can be the source of serious injury when they’re improperly designed or installed in vehicles. In 2023, Honda recalled over 300,000 cars and SUVs due to a missing seat belt component, endangering the lives of consumers.
• Faulty Door Latches: Defective door latches have resulted in lawsuits against major auto manufacturers, including a class action lawsuit against Ford alleging faulty latches on F-150 doors.
• Crushed Roofs: Auto manufacturers should crash test all their vehicles to ensure occupants are safe in the event of rollover accidents. Sadly, many vehicle manufacturers have sold cars that don’t protect those inside.
• Lack of Crashworthiness: The U.S. has set industry standards that manufacturers must meet for their vehicles to be considered safe. When vehicle occupants suffer serious injuries because of a faulty design, they have the right to file a product liability claim.
• Sudden Acceleration: Sudden unintended acceleration causes thousands of crashes every year in the U.S. When this defect is the manufacturer’s fault, as in the case of high-profile lawsuits against Toyota and Lexus, they may be liable for damages.
• Defective Tires: Defective tires have been the subject of many lawsuits, including legal action against Bridgestone, Michelin, and BF Goodrich. Recent recalls include 170,000 tires from Goodyear produced between 1996 and 2003, which have been found to fail at highway speeds.
• Heavy Truck Defects: Large commercial vehicles are extremely dangerous if manufactured improperly or with defective parts. When serious crashes happen, victims should take legal action to get injury compensation.
• Recalls: Many recalls only occur after consumers have suffered serious injuries or died in crashes caused by defective vehicles and/or parts. If you’ve been involved in a crash and later discover that your vehicle was part of a recall, you may have legal options available for compensation.
• Recreational Vehicles and Carbon Monoxide Poisoning: When motorhomes and recreational vehicles (RVs) are poorly designed, they carry a serious risk of carbon monoxide poisoning. 

Firefighting Foam

Firefighting Foam: Aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF), commonly used to extinguish fires by firefighters, contains per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). These “forever chemicals” persist in the environment and the human body, and have been linked to various cancers, including kidney, testicular, liver, and thyroid cancer, as well as other health problems like low birth weights, immune system dysfunction, high cholesterol, and even blindness. Firefighters and individuals living near sites where AFFF was used may be at increased risk.

Hair Straightener

Recent studies have found that hair straighteners/relaxers may increase the risk of uterine cancer in women who use them five or more times in a given year. Our lawyers are working hard to help women and their loved ones whose lives were affected by hair straightener uterine cancer. 

NEC

Similac and Enfamil are two of the most popular brands of baby formula in the U.S., and they’re both linked to a deadly condition in newborns called necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). In 2022, baby formula manufactured in Michigan was recalled due to two deaths related to cronobacter infections in infants. If your baby suffered harm from their formula, we want to help. 

Paraquat Injury Lawsuits

The herbicide paraquat, also called paraquat dichloride, has been used in the U.S. since 1964. The weed killer affects plants that have become resistant to Roundup and other glyphosate-containing herbicides.

Paraquat has been linked with an increased risk of Parkinson’s disease and conditions that closely mimic it. Workers who could be at greatest risk of paraquat-related illness include:

• Farmers
• Agricultural workers
• Crop dusters
• Applicators of herbicides
• Those who mix chemicals
• Tank fillers

As public awareness of the link between paraquat and Parkinson’s disease increases, paraquat lawsuits have been growing against weed killer manufacturers, including major companies such as Syngenta, Growmark, and Chevron Corporation.

Social Media

According to Pew Research Center, nearly half of all teens in the U.S. say they use social media apps almost constantly. Social media platforms have come under fire in recent years due to their proven negative impact on young people’s developing brains. If your child suffers from addiction, cyberbullying, anxiety, depression, or other serious problems due to social media usage, we’re here to help.

Why File a Product Liability Lawsuit?

When you suffer harm from a dangerous or defective product, you have the right to file a product liability claim to recover all the costs you face because of a manufacturer’s negligence. Through a product liability claim, you can receive compensation for medical bills, lost income, property damage, pain, suffering, and any other expenses you face because of the defect.

To file a product liability lawsuit, certain criteria must be met, including:

• Proving the Defect: You need to show that the product had a defect when it left the manufacturer’s hands. This could be a design defect, a manufacturing defect, or a failure to provide adequate warnings or instructions.
• Establishing Causation: You must demonstrate that the defect in the product directly caused your injury. This means linking your harm directly to the product’s defect, not some other cause.
• Demonstrating Damages: You need to prove that you suffered actual damages as a result of the defect. This includes physical injuries, financial losses, emotional distress, or damage to property.

Don’t pay the costs for your injuries when a manufacturer is to blame. Instead, take a stand and seek the help of an experienced product liability lawyer in Michigan. Why do so many people choose our defective products attorneys?

• We have a history of record-setting verdicts and settlements.
• We have won hundreds of millions of dollars for our clients.
• Our law firm has been around for more than 70 years.
• Our initial consultations are always 100% free.

Get your case moving in the right direction. Call us at 800-294-6637 now.

Willing to Fight in Court or for a Settlement

At Fieger Law, our Michigan product liability lawyers are always ready for litigation in front of a judge and jury. However, product manufacturers commonly try to settle injury claims out of court because that allows them to keep all the case details out of public records, effectively shielding their brand from bad press.

We know how to use their nervousness to your advantage by pressing them for a maximized settlement amount during negotiations or mediation. If the amount they offer is not enough based on how much you have suffered and the total amount of your medical bills and lost wages, then we will let you know and advise we move to litigation.

Contact us today for your free consultation.