Xmas Isn’t Always the Most Wonderful Time of Year in NYC

Christmas is one of the most magical times of the year, but it also happens to be a time when the number of reported accidents and injuries go up.

Tens of thousands of people get injured at Christmas time every year – and not just minor gift wrap mishaps either. Lacerations, fractures, abrasions, sprains, strains, choking, and contusions are just a few of the most predominant injuries this time of the year.

If you’re injured at Christmas due to a defective product, then there is a way to seek compensation in New York. Here are the basics of product liability claims in this state and how you can pursue this course of action for your injury.

Defective Products: What Are They?

When many people think of injuries from defective products, they think of medical devices or perhaps pharmaceuticals, but those aren’t the only things that can fall into the defective product category.

The truth is that any consumer product that has a defect that leads to injury or death is considered a defective product. In fact, some of the most common products around the house have led to product liability lawsuits.

Children’s toys, car parts, cosmetics, foods, and even household appliances are known to be common causes of injuries such as:

• Broken bones
• Burns
• Electrocution
• Poisoning
• Eye injuries
• Spine, back, and neck injuries
• Lacerations
• Organ failure
• Illness

When a defective product is released by a manufacturer, then it endangers people’s lives. No matter the injury you suffer due to a defective product, you should speak to an attorney to ensure you get the compensation you deserve.

Product Liability Laws in New York

If you suffer from an injury due to a defective product, then you should hire an attorney to help you navigate the laws in the state. The laws include things such as:

• Filing deadlines
• Rules for who may file a claim
• Requirements for bringing a lawsuit
• Statute of limitations

That last one, the statute of limitations, is crucial to a product liability case. That’s because in New York you have a certain amount of time to bring a lawsuit against a manufacturer for the defective product and the resulting injury. Otherwise, you will be barred from ever doing so.

In New York, most product liability claims are subject to a three-year statute of limitations from the date the injury occurred or the date the injury was discovered.

That means that you have three years to document injuries, gather evidence, and ultimately file a lawsuit against the party at fault.

When To File a Lawsuit

You can file a product liability lawsuit if one of three things occurred:

• Negligence – This means that the person or company you are suing was careless in a way that compromised the product’s safety and caused the injuries.
• Strict product liability – For product liability, you don’t need to prove fault, but you must show that the product had a defect that resulted in the injuries.
• Breach of warranty – This can be used if the manufacturer of the product guaranteed something either implicitly or expressly that was contradicted later.

You must prove your case in court by showing that the manufacturer had a duty to create a safe product, they breached that duty, and that the product caused an injury. Then, you can recover damages from the injury due to the defective product.