If a Defective Product Injured You, the Manufacturer Is Responsible

Product liability is the area of law that holds manufacturers, distributors, and sellers responsible when the products they put into the stream of commerce are defective and cause injury. Unlike most negligence cases, a product liability claim does not require proof that the manufacturer was careless. Under the doctrine of strict liability, an injured person needs to prove only that the product was defective, that the defect existed when it left the manufacturer's hands, and that the defect caused the injury.

There are three recognized categories of product defect. A design defect exists when the product as a whole is unreasonably dangerous because of how it was conceived, even if every unit was built exactly as designed. A manufacturing defect exists when the unit that injured the person was different from how the product was designed, often because of a flaw in materials or assembly. A warning defect, sometimes called a failure to warn, exists when the manufacturer failed to provide instructions or warnings about a non-obvious risk that a reasonable user would need to know about to use the product safely.

Product cases reach into every part of life. They include defective vehicles, including airbag failures, fuel system fires, seat back collapses, and rollover cases. They include industrial machinery sold without adequate guarding or with defective safety interlocks. They include consumer products, from power tools to children's toys, that were never tested in the hands of the people who would actually use them. They include pharmaceutical liability cases involving drugs that were marketed despite known risks. And they include medical device cases, where defective implants, surgical mesh, and instrumentation have caused life-altering injury.

These cases are technical and they are expensive to bring. Manufacturers defend them aggressively because the verdicts can be large and the consequences for the product line are real. Effective product cases require engineering experts, biomechanical analysts, and often industry insiders who can speak to what the manufacturer knew when. Stroebel & Stroebel invests in those experts. We secure the product itself as evidence, before the carrier can take it. We obtain the design history file, the testing data, and the internal communications when the law allows. And we present the case to the manufacturer the way it should be presented, supported by the science and prepared for trial.

If you or a loved one has been hurt by a product, do not throw it away, do not let an insurance company take it, and call us. The consultation is free. (304) 346-0197.

The cases we take on.

• Defective vehicles, including airbag failures, fuel system fires, seat back collapses, tire failures, and rollover cases.
• Industrial machinery and equipment sold without adequate guarding or with defective safety controls.
• Pharmaceutical and prescription drug cases involving inadequate warnings of known risks.
• Medical devices, including defective implants, surgical mesh, and instrumentation.
• Consumer products, including power tools, household appliances, and children's products.
• Failure-to-warn cases where the manufacturer omitted critical safety information.

“Strict liability changes the question. It is not whether the company was careful. It is whether the product was safe.”

Our approach, step by step.

1. 01

   Preserve the Product

   The first call we make is to preserve the product itself. Without the unit that caused the injury, the case becomes much harder. We coordinate evidence storage and chain of custody.

2. 02

   Engineering Workup

   We retain the engineering, biomechanical, or pharmacology experts the case requires and develop the theory of the defect with their input.

3. 03

   Demand and Filing

   We present a documented demand to the manufacturer or move directly to litigation, depending on the facts and the defendant.

4. 04

   Trial-Ready Posture

   Manufacturers settle these cases when they know the file has been built to be tried. We build every product case that way.