Category: Personal Injury FAQ’s

Defective Products and Product Liability in Personal Injury Law

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Individuals who have been injured by a dangerous or defective product may be able to recover damages for their injuries. Product liability claims are very complex matters and differ considerably from other types personal injury cases. This is due to specific recovery rules and theories that have been developed for this particular field of personal injury law. It follows then that filing product claims and lawsuits involves the need for an injury lawyer that specializes in these types of cases.

Chain of Distribution and Supply

Injury victims or the survivors of defective product deaths in Hamilton can recover compensation from a number of individuals that are part of the chain of distribution including:

  • designers
  • distributors
  • manufacturers
  • retailers
  • suppliers
  • vendors
  • wholesalers

In most cases, the recovery of compensation from these companies and individuals is usually based in one or a combination of applicable Provincial laws. Additionally, there must be quality control systems in place to prevent dangerous and defective products landing on retailer’s shelves. Furthermore, quality control measures will ensure that all products are properly labeled with directions and warnings. However lax laws are sometimes taken advantage of and these results in injuries.

More Complexities to deal with

Personal injury cases based on defective products and product liability are oftentimes complicated and difficult for an injury lawyer in Hamilton and their legal team to litigate without the assistance of engineers, investigators, and other research experts. These professionals are involved in reviewing these types of cases and for the purposes of determining whether or not a product is dangerous or defective.

There is also a chance that some of the entities involved in the chain of distribution may not be located here in Ontario Province or Canada for that matter. Consequently, it is not always easy to ascertain who the responsible parties are and determine whether a personal injury case of this nature falls under Federal or Provincial law. Needless to say, the legal process involved can be incredibly time-consuming.

Compensatory and Punitive Damages

You typically see an award for compensatory damages in product liability cases and if your injury lawyer in Hamilton can prove negligence, there may be punitive damages as well. The purpose of compensatory damages is to make the injured person whole again financially and compensate them for the damages incurred. These damages are broken down into two categories – economic and non-economic losses – as follows:

  • Economic losses – cost of disabilities, lost profits and wages (current and future), medical expenses, property losses and repairs
  • Non-economic losses – loss of consortium or society, pain and suffering

If the judge or jury in your product liability case finds that the defendant’s behavior was blatantly careless, negligent, or reckless, you may be awarded punitive damages as well. In this case, the purpose of punitive damages is implied in the name – to punish the defendant for their behavior by awarding you monetarily.

In Motor Vehicle Accidents, Can You Sue The Other Driver?

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Unfortunately a lot of people tend to believe that if you have been injured as a result of a vehicular accident in a province which has no-fault insurance legislation they won’t be able to sue the other driver for the actual losses. This is far from being true. The city of Hamilton is located in the province of Ontario and currently the Rules of Fault Determination are enacted in order to provide clarification above that matter. However, you are still going to be able to sue the other driver for certain damages, provided that the other driver has acted negligently.

Pursuant to the no-fault provisions which are set forth by the province of Ontario, you are entitled to go for accident benefits from the insurance company that you have contracted. Nevertheless, these benefits are not going to fully compensate you for every kind of damage that you may actually suffer. This is why the legislation also allows you to sue the other driver in order to get properly and fully compensated. This solution is incredibly fair because it allows victim to reclaim what has been metaphorically taken away. So whit this in mind, let’s take a look at the damages that you are allowed to sue for apart from what you will receive from your insurance company.

  • Economic loss

This is what you have basically spent in order to recover from the injury. These damages are based upon simple documents like medical receipts and basically everything that proves you’ve spent money in regard with your injuries.

  • Loss of the capacity to earn which relates to future losses of income

This provision is incredibly important. Vehicular accidents often result in terrible injuries which render the victim unable to provide the same amount of work that he was able to prior to the accident. This results in a loss of income, which he could sue for in court.

  • Pain and suffering

These are the commonly known emotional damages. They have to be discretionally assessed by the court in any single case.

  • Loss of care or guidance and companionship

These are also emotional damages that could be sought by the relatives of the victim. They usually occur in cases of severe injuries and long-term disabilities when the victim used to take care for particular family members. The Family Act of Canada allows those members to seek reparation for their losses.

Nevertheless, it is important to understand that you would be able to go after the other driver in court, regardless of the money you have received from the insurance. Of course, this would be taken into consideration by the court and your compensation is going to be respectively reduced.

Can Medical Products Be Tried Under Product Liability Laws?

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Almost every single accident is going to cause some sort of an injury. Even though some of them are not going to have terrible consequences and you can get by without the use of any medication, the majority of cases would require you to treat yourself. The most convenient and still conventional treatment involves using medical products such as drugs. This means that the medical products can be subjected to a product liability case, if they were unfit for the particular purpose or there was something wrong with the drug itself. However, in order to claim such merit for a case, the patient must have suffered from some sort of injuries, caused by the drugs in question. This is why the Statute of Limitation is going to be enforceable and the time period during which you can file your claim is going to be limited.

Proving product liability

Now, it’s important to know that claiming product liability in the case of usage of medical products is one of the most difficult things you can go through. This is due to the fact that your injury lawyer in the city of Cambridge will have to prove that the injuries were caused by the particular product. This is easier said than done. In most of the cases the medical procedures carry a certain percentage of risk that you are going to be informed about. The doctor is going to require you to sign a document which allows them to carry out the medical treatment and the respective usage of drugs regardless of the risk. If you sign this document you are basically giving them a green light and they won’t be held accountable if something happens.

Another thing to note is that these medical products have specific side effects. You also can’t file a claim if you have experienced any of those side effects. This is due to the fact that medical products put a clear and concise disclaimer which alerts every user about the potential side effects.

Basically, you could claim damages if the suffering which was caused doesn’t really fall within the mentioned side effects and they were not predicted by the possible risks. These are events in which the patient has suffered from severe injuries which are not typical for the usage of this particular drug. The lawyer in Cambridge has to be able to prove that this drug does not usually cause the suffered injuries. This requires thorough examination of medical documentation and sound research on the effects of the drugs. The claims have to be filed towards the company which has produced the medical product as it is at fault for not predicting this kind of injury.

How To Proceed If You’ve Experienced Traumatic Brain Injuries?

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First of all, it should be made clear that not every accident is going to result in some sort of injuries. However, the brute reality is that the majority of them would cause some traumatic injuries, including such of the brain or orthopedic ones. These injuries often lead to severe pain and suffering which is also subject to compensation as per the current legislation of Canada, which is enforceable in the province of Ontario. It’s also important to keep in mind that there are limitations set forth in the Statute of Limitations. This Act stipulates that certain cases can only be brought forward within a specified time period, which has to be considered. The solution is fair.

In any case, traumatic brain injuries are definitely the most unfortunate consequence. This is due to the fact that our brain is the single most important organ in our body and injuring it could lead to grave long term and even permanent damages. Some of the accidents which could lead to brain trauma include but are certainly not limited to car accidents, motorcycle accidents, slip and fall and many more. It’s important to be aware of your rights or to contract a lawyer which is experience and is capable of representing you in front of the respective authorities.

Brain injuries are severe. The brain is an organ which is consisted of millions of neurons which are transferring information all across our bodies. A brain injury can cause permanent disabilities such as blindness, loss of hearing, paralysis and many more. You should be aware that you would be able to claim the direct damages which required you to make certain expenses and the ones which occurred after the fact. These are economic losses and emotional traumas.

An economic loss is a consequence of an injury which rendered you unable to work or unable to work to the same extend. This has translated to a certain loss of income which you can be filing for as compensation. It’s important to note that you can only file for the amount of money which exceeds the amount you have received from your insurance company, provided you have one. The compensation that is going to be awarded has to be respectively reduced in order to avoid enrichment which is not regulated.

Emotional trauma on the other hand can include a whole lot of things. The depression that you are likely to suffer because of the way your life has shifted is one thing. Also you can be depressed because you are not able to provide your close ones with the attention that you used to or because you are causing them inconvenience with the fact that they have to take care of you.

Orthopedic Injuries and Their Relation to Personal Injury Law

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You may wonder why orthopedic injuries are such important part of personal injury law, but the truth is that almost every accident is going to result in damages of this kind. Orthopedic injuries in general are considered to be such damages which break the integrity of the structure of your body. Most common cases and prime examples include broken bones, dislocated joints and many more. Even though some of them might not be as painful as most of the people think, the majority of orthopedic injuries are actually very serious and grave. They require thorough medical attendance and they have to be treated carefully in order to ensure full recovery.

The city of Brantford is located in the province of Ontario. This means that the provincial laws which are enacted on this region are going to have full force over the city. Luckily, there are not many stipulations and regulations which differ from the governmental laws. However, orthopedic injuries are regulated by the respective legislation, which governs the particular accident. For instance, injuries deriving from a slip and fall accidents are going to be regulated by the Occupiers’ Liability Act, consolidated back in 1990 on the 31st of December. It was a landmark in tort laws.

With this in mind, it’s important to determine whether or not surgical attendance is going to be required. You are only going to be referred to a doctor of this particular kind if your injuries require special attention. This of course doesn’t necessarily mean that your injuries or your illnesses have to be life threatening. Of course, they might be, but that’s not what determines the need of special attendance.

The reason for which this is important is because it’s usually taken into consideration to assess the amount of emotional trauma that the victim had to go through. Assessing damages deriving from orthopedic injuries is easy and pretty straight forward. This is due to the fact that the treatments and procedures are properly enlisted and you can see how much they cost.

However, emotional damages are a whole other story. They can’t be based on any kind of documentation as there is no universal way to calculate emotional traumas. This is why the court has to base its decision on discretion. In order to do so the judge would have to consider the fact that the patient had to undergo complicated surgical procedures before he could even start to recover. This suggests that he would be subjected to a lot of pain and suffering and thus the emotional damages entitled to compensation are going to be higher. It’s also important to note that the emotional traumas in every single case should be assessed individually.