Albuquerque Product Liability Lawyer

If you have a product liability claim, Will Ferguson & Associates’ Albuquerque attorneys are on your side

When representing a client in a case involving an unsafe toy, tool or other defective product, our lawyers fight for the maximum settlement or verdict possible, not only to help our client rebuild a damaged life but also to serve the community and encourage the negligent company to prevent future tragedies.

Federal and state product liability laws provide consumers with recourse for personal injuries caused by defective products. No one knows those laws better than Will Ferguson & Associates.

If you’ve been injured by a product, consult with our Product Liability Lawyers of Albuquerque NM – Ferguson Law Firm to find out if you have a product liability claim. Contact us at (505) 243-5566.

What is product liability?

No one uses a product expecting it to break or fail. When a product’s defect becomes apparent, it can take the user by surprise, sometimes with disastrous consequences.

If the defect causes a serious personal injury, the manufacturer, wholesaler or seller may be liable. Think of a hairdryer that emits a dangerous shock or a child’s toy that contains small, sharp pieces. Consumers should be able to use products they pay good money for as intended, without worrying about being hurt.

How is a product determined to be dangerous?

1. When the product is designed

• A design defect occurs in the infancy of a product’s life. It is a fundamental flaw that makes the product unsafe. If you used the defective product in the intended manner (or in a foreseeable manner), and then were injured by the product, you may have a claim.
• You, the plaintiff, must show the harmful product was defectively designed. You may also need to show that a safer alternative design was available and feasible.
• Examples of flawed design include a bicycle with brakes that fail, a teakettle’s handle that breaks when heated, a child’s crib that can allow the child to choke or suffocate, or a ladder that cannot support the weight of a person.

2. When the product is manufactured

• Other defects can occur despite careful design. A product can suffer cracks, weak spots or other flaws during the manufacturing process.
• Autos and tires are examples of products that are prone to manufacturing defects. SUV rollover hazards and tire blowouts are both notable examples of this kind of defects.

3. When the product’s instructions or warnings are inadequate or missing.

• Manufacturers and sellers in New Mexico must take adequate steps to avoid unreasonable risk to consumers. They must warn consumers of dangers that aren’t obvious and they must provide instructions on the product’s proper use. If a warning is absent, hard to see or unclear, then the consumer may have a viable case.
• Examples of common liability cases with inadequate warnings include smoke detectors, power tools, and electrical equipment.

Contact Us If You Have a Product Liability Claim in Albuquerque

The Albuquerque NM product liability attorney at Will Ferguson & Associates understands the ins and outs of product liability litigation. If you believe you have a product liability claim, call us at (505) 243-5566 for a free consultation.

The drivers of cars, trucks and motorcycles are at the mercy of the product manufacturers, wholesalers and sellers. If the parts that go into a vehicle are unsafe, causing a car’s brakes to fail or an SUV’s tire to blow out without warning, auto accidents and truck accidents can occur, resulting in serious personal injury.

In addition, every year in New Mexico, dangerous children’s products are marketed to unsuspecting parents. Under federal and New Mexico law, manufacturers and distributors of unsafe toys, baby furniture and other children’s equipment are responsible for the injuries they cause.

Lawyers at Will Ferguson & Associates represent children and parents in cases where poorly designed, defective or otherwise dangerous infant and children’s products cause personal injury:

The distributor of a popular action figure will cut costs by importing lead-painted toys from China. To save money, the manufacturer of a stroller or baby gate will ignore information that could save a baby’s life or prevent the amputation of a child’s finger.

Designers and manufacturers of toys and furniture intended for children need to keep a sharp eye on safety. For more information, visit the Consumer Products Safety Commission for guidelines on children’s items and information on recalls. In the recent past, cribs, dolls, bedroom furniture, clothing and numerous other items have been recalled. Sometimes medication causes harm because the manufacturer concealed adverse testing results from federal regulators. In other cases, the manufacturing process allowed contaminants into the product. The harm that results can be devastating.

The Food and Drug Administration regulates pharmaceutical and medical devices. If the manufacturer did not comply with FDA regulations, that often makes it easier to recover compensation. Powered hand tools can also be defective and cause grave injuries. When the user has not been sufficiently warned of the dangers or the tool has a design or manufacturing flaw or defect, the tool may be unreasonably dangerous and leave the manufacturer open to liability. If a tool does not have a necessary thumb guard, for instance, or the instructions fail to warn the user to wear protective gloves, the manufacturer may be liable. Building sites, construction plants, meatpacking plants, oilfields and oil refineries are inherently hazardous environments. Under New Mexico law, any injured employee is entitled to workers’ compensation. However, those benefits often do not cover all of the employee’s losses. That’s where we can help. Contact us, Will Ferguson & Associates, and our personal injury attorney can use product liability case law to assist construction workers in recovering additional compensation through third-party actions. Such a claim could be against the maker of a poorly designed piece of equipment that contributed to an accident. Examples include:

• Unsafe scaffolding or ladders that cause a fall
• An injury resulting from a poorly designed or defective power tool or other equipment
• Foundation collapse, roof collapse, a fallen wall
• If your injury resulted from defective equipment, poorly designed heavy machinery or unguarded power tools, you may have a product liability claim in addition to a workers’ compensation claim.

Call Our Albuquerque Product Liability Attorneys Now

If you or a member of your family has suffered an injury from a product, it is extremely important to file related claims in a timely manner. If you would like to speak with a member of our firm, contact us and arrange a free consultation. If you are unable to travel, we will visit you in your home or hospital. If we take the case, we’ll launch an immediate investigation; and of course, our product liability lawyer of  Albuquerque NM  charge no fees unless we recover compensation on our client’s behalf.