Defective Products Lawyer in St. Clair County, MO.

Defective Products Lawyer in St. Clair County, MO. If you or a loved one was injured by a dangerous product, call a Burger law defective products lawyer in St. Clair County, MO right away at (314) 500-HURT or fill out our online form for a complimentary case review.

Imagine your daily routine: You may make coffee in a coffee maker in the morning, take allergy medication, go to school or work in your car, sit at in a chair or work around heavy equipment, and/or use your iPhone throughout the day. You may go 4-wheeling on the weekend. You may even have a joint replacement or other medical implant. It seems we're always using or surrounded by some sort of product that has gone through various stages of design and production before it reaches the shelves. When there is an oversight in the stream of commerce and a product becomes dangerous, it can have a ruinous effect on on your life and lives of those you love in St. Clair County, MO. When that happens to you, you need the accomplished and devoted legal services of Burger Law's defective products lawyer team to stand by your side and secure you the great compensation you are owed.

In our In our three decades of experience standing up for fairness and justice, we have secured our clients in St. Clair County and throughout Missouri more than $170 million. Our initial case reviews are no-cost, no-obligation, so there's no reason to wait. Get in touch with a defective products lawyer in St. Clair County, MO immediately at (314) 500-HURT.

If you were harmed by a faulty product in St. Clair County, MO, see how much your claim may be worth by filling out our free personal injury calculator.



The following are some helpful links and FAQS from your Burger Law defective products injury lawyer in St. Clair County, MO:

• FDA Recall List and Safety Alerts
• Consumer Products Safety Commission Recall List
• U.S. Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Recall List
• Recalls.Gov
• What to Do if You're Injured by a Dangerous Product?
• Can I Sue a Company if Their Product Gave Me Cancer?
• Can I Sue for a Defective Car Part if it Caused My Accident?

St. Clair County, MO Defective Products Statistics

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has found that hazardous products cause more than 29 million injuries and 21,000 fatalities every year.

According to facts from the Insurance Information Institute, in 2019 the mean average that juries awarded plaintiffs in product liability claims was over $7 million, while the median was $2 million. That shows the extreme harm that can be caused when manufacturers and vendors do not adhere to adequate safety protocols.

If you or someone you know was harmed by a dangerous product, call a Burger Law defective products lawyer in St. Clair County, MO for compassionate, committed and talented support and legal advocacy.

How Defective Products Claims Work in St. Clair County, MO

Pursuant to Missouri Revised Statute §537.760, you and your St. Clair County, MO defective products lawyer can can hold a person or corporation responsible for your injuries if three factors are true:

1. The defendant was involved in the product's stream of commerce.
2. You used the product in a manner logically foreseen.
3. One or both of the following:
   1. The product was in a faulty condition that was unreasonably hazardous when you bought the product that was the proximate cause of your injuries, and/or
   2. Your injuries stemmed from a hazardous condition inherent in the product that was not warned of in the labeling or instructions.

The "stream of commerce" refers to anyone that took part in the product coming to fruiting and going to the market, from initial design to sale, including a distributor or seller. According to Missouri Revised Statute §5537.762, an entity sold the product but were not involved in the design or manufacture of it may avoid liability if:

• You discover who the manufacturer is, it has not closed their business and is able to pay for all of your damages.
• The seller makes an affidavit under threat of perjury that their only involvement in the chain of distribution was selling it.
• There is no evidence is submitted to the court that the distributor was involved in any other aspect of the stream of commerce.
• The motion to dismiss is filed within 60 days.

If the aforementioned conditions are fulfilled, the seller would then be dismissed without prejudice, which means the decision to leave them out of the suit is not final. So, if later evidence proves that they were actually involved in the design or manufacture of the product, were otherwise responsible for the hazardous condition or the manufacturer cannot pay for the entirety of the economic, physical and emotional loss you sustained, your defective products lawyer at Burger Law would have them re-entered into the claim and ensure you get the great financial recovery you are owed.

Missouri Revised Statute §537.764 provides one defense for "state of the art products," meaning that a hazardous aspect of the product was not known and could not be discovered when the product went to market. This defense will only work for for failure to warn defective products lawsuits, and the burden of proof is on the defense.

Strict Liability and Negligence in Defective Products Claims: What's the Difference?

The majority of personal injury claims in St. Clair County, MO depend on the concept of negligence. We all owe each other a duty of care in certain situations; for example, property owners and managers must make sure their premises is reasonably safe so no one sustains a slip and fall. When someone is negligent, for example if are injured by a fatigued truck driver they may be found accountable for your damages and would owe you a financial recovery.

By contrast, most product liability or defective products claims are determined by strict liability, meaning that anyone in the chain of distribution is to blame for any damage a product causes, whether they were negligent or not. According to jury instruction revisions made by the Missouri Supreme Court, defendant's in a product liability case may be held to the strict liability standard if you and your St. Clair County, MO defective products lawyer can demonstrate that the product was "unreasonably dangerous" — meaning it is unsafe when used as intended or in a foreseeable way — when it left the manufacturer's or distributor's control.

Missouri classifies three different ways in which your defective products lawyer can argue a product was dangerous:

1. Design Defect: A design defect is an innate imperfection in the design that afterwards passes the fault to all products with the same design. An example is a piece of clothing that is easily flammable.
2. Manufacturing Defects: A product can be designed effectively and safely but still become dangerous because of a failure in the manufacturing process. This can either only make one product defective, i.e. a single vehicle, or several or all of them, as in an entire line of the same model vehicle. An example could be installing outdated components or leaving sharp edges on plastic or other materials.
3. Failure to Warn of Known Dangers or Risks That Should Have Been Anticipated: This occurs when the product was not defective through design or manufacture, but instead when the manufacturer did not include correct and clear instructions or when there is a hazard that could arise from normal use of the product. Examples include failing to warn that a hairdryer might cause an electric shock if it comes in contact with water or food packaging that does not mention all the ingredients and causes an allergic reaction. A manufacturer typically does not have to warn against obvious dangers. For instance, they do not have to warn you that a match could start a fire.

Strict liability is meant to hold corporations accountable and persuade them to implement thorough safety protocols for guaranteeing that their products will not pose a danger to the public. Even so, too often companies do not respect their obligation to make safe products and try to focus more on cutting costs than ensuring their products will not hurt anyone. In those cases, your Burger Law defective products lawyer in St. Clair County, MO will hold them responsible by conducting a full investigation of your case and demanding nothing but maximum compensation.

Comparative Negligence in Defective Productions Claims in St. Clair County, MO

Manufacturers, distributors and anyone else in the chain of distribution will often rely on the theory of comparative negligence when creating their defense. Missouri Revised Statute §537.765 permits for the defendants to argue that you are responsible for a portion of the fault and, therefore, they are not obligated to reimburse you for the full extent of your damages. For example, if a jury awards you $100,000 but finds you were 30 percent liable for the accident, your total compensation will only be $70,000. Often, claims of comparative fault are an erroneous attempt a defendant makes to avoid their duty to reimburse you for the harm they have caused. Your St. Clair County, MO defective products lawyer at Burger Law has seen that defense and successfully fought against it many times. Pursuant to the statute, the defense may say you bear some or all of the fault if one or several of the following circumstances are present in your case:

• You did not use the product in a way the manufacturer could foresee. A manufacturer or seller is only has to make a product safe for ways that they can expect a consumer to use it. For example, while chairs are meant for sitting, standing on one to reach something is common. So if a certain model of chair is dangerous to stand on, the manufacturer needs to include a warning not to stand on it. By contrast, if you are injured playing catch with a power tool or other sharp object, you likely do not have a claim because the manufacture would not be expected to foresee that use of the product.
• You used the product in a manner that was clearly against the manufacturer's intent. With this defense, the defendant will likely not be able to avoid liability altogether, but can considerably diminish it but can significantly decrease it. Say you crash a car while driving 40 miles per hour over the speed limit and the brakes do not work as well as they should. The manufacturer could reasonably foresee someone doing that, but will not be completely responsible because you were being reckless.
• You knew of inherent hazards of the product while you were using it. This is often called as "Assumption of the risk," a theory in tort claims whereby, if the injured party was aware of risks, the defendant is not responsible. For instance, if the steering wheel on your vehicle was locking, you neglected to fix it and it caused you to get in an accident, your awareness of the defect and willingness to drive regardless would constitute an assumption of the risk.
• You displayed an unreasonable failure to appreciate the danger that a product's specific use could cause. For example, you make custom modification to your car's engine despite not being a mechanic. The defense could argue that the risk of doing so was obvious, and you should have known how dangerous it was.
• You neglected to follow safety guidelines. Putting adequate warnings and safety instructions on a product's packaging can often protect someone in the stream of commerce from liability. If you were injured in a car accident because of faulty brakes, but you were not wearing your seatbelt, the defense can argue your injuries would have been avoided had you adhered to proper protocols.
• You did not mitigate your damages. In any personal injury claim, you are expected to try to keep your damages as low as you reasonable can. For example, you cannot seek compensation for medical treatment for injuries that have nothing to do with. The defense may say you have no right to ask them for money they do not owe you.

Just because the defense can — and will — try to convince the court that comparative fault applies to your injuries, that does not mean the claim is automatically true. Large corporations and insurance companies use a variety of deceitful tactics to try and lower your claim, but your St. Clair County, MO defective products lawyer at Burger Law knows how to fight back against them. We know these large corporations will try everything to avoid paying you and try to take advantage of people who do not have the same resources. Our defective products lawyer team works on a contingency fee basis, which means our only fee is a moderate percentage of the compensation you collect, and you owe us nothing until we win your case. Get in touch with Burger Law now at (314) 500-HURT for legal advocacy that rivals and surpasses that of bullying manufacturers and distributors and insurance adjusters.

Defective Vehicle Parts Lawyer in St. Clair County, MO

Defective vehicles are the most common type of product liability that our defective products lawyer team sees in St. Clair County, MO. In 2019 alone, in excess of 53.1 million recalls were issued both for entire vehicles and individual parts. Defective car parts can result in collisions and fires, and fail to protect occupants from harm as intended. Common faulty automobile components we see are:

• Brakes
• Airbags
• Ignitions
• Windshield wipers
• Tires
• Door latches
• Headlights and taillights

Offroad vehicles like 4-wheelers can also cause injuries, for instance if a design defect gives them a heightened propensity to rolling over.

Your Burger Law defective products lawyer has extensive experience investigating car accident claims and injuries and will consult with experts to determine if your accident was the fault of a faulty vehicle component.

Defective Medical Devices Lawyer in St. Clair County, MO

Medical devices are intended to improve the lives of the people who need them. But, sometimes they can do the opposite and cause us further injuries when not manufactured, shipped or installed correctly. Common medical devices that your Burger Law defective products lawyer in St. Clair County, MO has seen be defective include:

• Artificial hips, knees or other joints that can cause infections, instability, pain or frequent dislocations
• Cardiovascular devises, which can cause infections or even wrongful death because of premature failures
• Surgical robots intended to operate on parts of the body that are difficult for a surgeon to manually reach that, when defective, can lead to punctured organs, infections and internal burns
• Blood clot filters that permit free-floating blood clots to slip into the lungs
• Permanent birth control devices that can puncture organs, cause pelvic pain, abnormal hemorrhaging and unplanned pregnancies

As the medical industry keeps coming up with more and more advanced technologies, medical device recalls have gone up exponentially. In the first three months of 2018, medical device recalls rose by 126 percent, mostly because of issues with software.

In 2017, the U.S. Health and Human Services Department found that in the course of a decade Medicare spent at least $1.5 billion to replace more than 73,000 defective heart devices alone. We should not have to worry that these highly technological medical devices might cause us extensive pain instead of helping us. If a defective medical device caused you injuries, your St. Clair County, MO defective injuries lawyer at Burger Law will fight for your right to be reimbursed when your trust was betrayed.

Earlier this year, Exactech, a manufacturer of joint replacements, issued an Exactech Polyethylene Knee Replacement Recall. Their knee replacements were improperly packaged and shipped, causing them to do not last nearly as long as they were built to and have caused incredible pain and lifelong damage to potentially as many as 150,000 people who had received the replacement joint. When Burger Law was made aware of the defect by a client, we immediately filed suit on their behalf and continue to take on Exactech Knee Replacement cases. You can read our original complaint here:

View Complaint

Defective Drug Lawyer in St. Clair County, MO

The Federal Drug Administration has firm procedures that pharmaceutical companies must follow from manufacturing to delivery. However, the administration does not actually test drugs itself; rather, it relies on data from pharmaceutical companies' own testing to determine if a drug is safe for release to the public. That means that many medications reach the shelves whose potential side effects greatly outweigh their potential benefits. Too many pharmaceutical companies care more about the money they make more than the safety of the people who need medicine and treatments that truly help their condition. Currently, recalling a drug is largely voluntary. One way to make sure dangerous prescriptions stay off the shelves: call a Burger Law defective products lawyer in St. Clair County, MO to stand up to these bullying corporations and make them realize that their conduct is unacceptable.

Hundreds of thousands of drugs and medical devices are recalled in the U.S. each year, and that is often after many people have already turned to them for treatment and relief. If you or someone you care about sustained injuries because of irresponsible pharmaceutical companies and corporations, reach out to a Burger Law defective products injury lawyer immediately. We protect the rights of the injured and vulnerable and make sure negligent corporations know how much damage they have caused. Burger Law has already successfully won claims for families against opioid manufacturers so they can have some sense of justice for the wrongful death of their loved one.

Other examples of dangerous products we file suit for in St. Clair County, MO include:

• Children's toys
• Chemicals such as cleaning products
• Baby powder
• Household appliances
• Industrial machinery
• Cell phone batteries
• Beauty products

Every Burger Law defective products lawyer in St. Clair County, MO knows that when manufacturers and sellers fail to make safe products it can completely upend your daily routine, your family and even your present and future financial security. That is why we strive to see the vulnerable in St. Clair County and throughout Missouri receive full compensation for all of their damages, not just what the product manufacturer or insurance company feel like reimbursing you for. When you hire us, we immediately start working on delivering you a financial recovery for all of your medical expenses and lost wages, in addition to the mental and physical toll your injury has inflicted on you and your St. Clair County, MO family. You do not have to go through this alone, and the big corporations do not have to win every time. Call a Burger Law defective products lawyer in St. Clair County, MO right away at (314) 500-HURT or contact us online to take the first step toward a true recovery.