If you have suffered an injury caused by a defective product, it is likely that you will have many questions regarding whether you are eligible to make a claim for compensation and how to make a personal injury claim.
Common defective product compensation claims
Faulty product claims can be brought for a variety of reasons. The most common types of claims we have dealt with for injuries caused by defective items include:
· Accidents caused by faulty electrical goods – Defective electrical equipment can cause a range of injuries, such as burns, scarring and electric shock
· Injury caused by defective medical devices – Defective medical devices can include devices used during surgery, pacemakers or hip replacement components. Any piece of medical equipment has the potential to cause injury if defective. A claim for injury compensation can be made if you were injured due to any type of faulty medical device, equipment or tool.
· Defective children’s toys – Defective children’s toys can cause a multitude of injuries, from bumps and scrapes, to burns and fractures. If you require some legal advice on making a claim on behalf of a child, get in touch to speak to one of our specialist personal injury solicitors.
· Defective kitchen equipment – Defective kitchen equipment, such as faulty cookers and coffee machines commonly lead to scalds, burns and electric shock injuries.
· Defective work equipment – Under the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations (1998) your employer has a duty to supply you with equipment that is in good working condition. If you are injured at work due to faulty equipment, you may be able to pursue a claim against your employer or the manufacturer of the equipment.
Defective product claim: compensation
If you are successful in making a claim for a defective product injury, you compensation will be split into general damages and special damages.
General Damages – This refers to the amount of compensation you receive for your pain, suffering and loss of amenity.
To calculate this amount, we look at previous cases which are similar to yours, together with guidelines that are issued to Judges who decide the outcome of such claims if they go to Court. Your case will be valued on the basis of your injuries as described by suitably qualified medical professionals.
Special Damages – These are any direct financial losses that you may have suffered as a result of your injuries. Typically, these may include loss of earnings up to the settlement, loss of earnings in the future, medical costs, travel costs or the costs of care provided to you.
It is difficult to estimate the amount of compensation you will receive for your injuries without knowing the full extent of your injuries. There are, however, compensation calculators online that can be used to estimate how much you may be able to receive from your defective product claim.
Proving liability for your claim
The initial step in the claims process for personal injury is establishing liability. To do this, we will require some evidence from you such as your purchase receipt, photographs of the defective product, photographs of your injuries and medical evidence to show that your injuries were sustained due to the defective product. The defendant to the case will be liable if we can prove that:
1. The product was defective at the time of purchase
2. The defective product caused your injuries
The defendant to the case will either be the manufacturer of the product or the supplier. If the product was produced or manufactured outside of the European Union, the person or party who imported the goods will be held liable for any injury caused by the defective product.
Time Limits for making a defective product claim
As with most personal injury claims, you will have three years from the date you sustained your injury to claim compensation.
In personal injury cases, the three-year limit begins when you first realised that your injuries were connected to the accident. Therefore, it is crucial that you are assessed by a doctor as soon as possible so that you are able to start the claims process.
If the injured party is a child, they have until their 21st birthday to settle their claim.
In fatal accident claims, the time period for a dependant to begin a claim is three years from the date of death of the individual that passed due to a faulty product.
How long does it take to make a claim?
We do our best to progress your claim as quickly as possible; we have to allow a certain amount of time under the Court Rules for Defendants to respond.
However, you should never settle your claim until your injuries have either resolved or started to improve. Settling earlier than this would run the risk of you not receiving maximum compensation.
When someone has serious injuries, it can take a long time before the medical evidence and the associated financial losses can be finalised. We will always advise you on what we believe are realistic timescales for your case.
How can Wildwood Legal help with your defective product claim?
When it comes to personal injury, the consequences can be devastating as a person can be faced with a long period of absence from work and a real financial struggle. That’s where our specialist personal injury solicitors come in.
Our team of specialist personal injury solicitors have dealt with all types of accidents and injuries, including those caused by defective or faulty products.
Our personal injury team will give you specialist advice and will try and make sure you receive the compensation you deserve.
We are also happy to review your case if you are already in the middle of a claim to find out if the case is being progressed properly; we often take on accident claims for clients on no win, no fee agreements who are unsatisfied with the personal injury solicitors they are currently using.
We promise to guide you through every step of the claims process and do our very best to get the maximum compensation you deserve. Contact us today for a free no-obligation chat by phoning us on 0113 320 5000 or by email at info@winstonsolicitors.co.uk for an initial consultation.
Wildwood Legal are a law firm registered in England and Wales. We are authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
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If you are thinking about making a claim, we would love to hear from you. We will give you clear, honest advice.
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