St. Paul Defective Product Attorney

Some accidents seem like they are nobody’s fault. If a child’s toy breaks or medication has an unpleasant side effect, who is really to blame for their injuries? You are left with medical bills and pain and suffering and nobody to point a finger at except a company or the manufacturer that made the item months or even years ago.

Defective products are an inevitable part of our lives. When things are mass-produced, some of them are going to fail or be improperly designed, leading to potential injury or death among the users. The manufacturers bear the responsibility for making products that are as safe as reasonably possible and warning the public of any potential hazards.

If you have been injured by a defective product and believe you have a claim against the manufacturer or the supplier, you need a product liability attorney who can effectively represent you. These claims are complicated and involve big companies and their in-house attorneys, and you need the experienced legal team of Tyroler Leonard Injury Law to help you get your case resolved.

Why Choose Us

Product liability cases can be complex, because proving the chain of causation from the item to your injury may be difficult. At Tyroler Leonard Injury Law, our attorneys will listen to your case carefully and ask as many questions as it takes to find out what happened and who is involved.

The defective product lawyers that make up our legal team will work with you to get the compensation you deserve for your injuries. They will negotiate with the opposing party where possible, and if a settlement does not seem forthcoming, they will move on to litigation. Our focus is always on obtaining the best possible outcome for our clients.

Attorneys Isaac Tyroler and Rachel Sperling Leonard are experienced litigators who have spent their careers advocating for the rights of clients injured by the carelessness and negligence of others. They have won numerous cases for satisfied clients and were named “Rising Stars” by Minnesota’s Super Lawyers.

When you need a product injury attorney, we are here for you. Call us at 651-259-1113 for a free consultation about your case. We will review the facts and let you know your best options and alternatives. Call us today.

Product Liability Claims

Product liability or product defect law means holding manufacturers, designers, and suppliers responsible for any defects in the products they develop, produce, and ship to consumers. A company is not allowed to make an item, sell it, and then wash its hands of any responsibility to the end user.

There are three basic types of product liability claims:

• Design defect. A product must be designed properly for the use it was intended for. If the design is inherently dangerous or lacks a component that would prevent injury, then it has a design defect.
• Manufacturing defect. Some products may leave the factory with flaws in the batch or production run. Manufacturing defects are common in mass-produced components where an object is pressed or cut from a single piece of steel that contains a flaw.
• Failure to warn. If a product with a known hazard is marketed, it must contain a warning label advising consumers of the hazard. If the product lacks this label, or it is inadequate, this is a defect that must be addressed.
• A subset of all these types of defects is the failure to test. At each stage in a product’s development, it must be tested for suitability, breakage, or weakness. Failure to test is a trigger to look for other defects.

Who is Liable for Product Defects

Product defect is a “strict liability” law in Minnesota. That means negligence does not have to be proven for the manufacturer or distributor to be liable. All that must be shown is that the product was dangerous and caused an injury.

Minnesota law allows multiple parties to be responsible for defective products. Any party who had “significant control” over the design or manufacture of the product or had actual knowledge of the existence of the defect, may be liable. This may include:

• Product designers, if there was any foreseeable risk that the product’s design could lead to injury.
• Manufacturers, including those who make parts assembled into the entire product.
• Wholesalers, warehouses, and distributors.
• Retailers.

This does not mean that any product which could cause injury is subject to liability if it causes an injury. Knives are sharp and must be designed with sharp edges. However, the handles should be fixed so that they can be grasped firmly. If a new design glued the handle to the knife, rather than using rivets, and it slipped off during use and cut someone’s hand severely, this would be a design defect.

If the designer specified a certain type of glue, and the manufacturer used a different glue that became brittle when washed, it might be a manufacturing defect, and if the glue dried out when stored at high temperatures it might be a wholesaler or retailer matter. Anyone involved in bringing the knives to market could be responsible for the injury.

How We Can Help

Making a product liability claim is a very complicated process. The first step is identifying the product that caused the injury. For instance, if you cut yourself using a defective knife, it may not be immediately clear that the knife was at fault. Many people cut themselves using knives (after all, they are sharp.)

Even in cases where the cause is obvious, such as a defective airbag, it may be hard to show exactly what caused the defect. You may need the testimony of an expert in that product, or in the manufacture of those products, to begin your claim.

A product injury lawyer understands the complicated steps necessary to establish a chain of causation between your injury and the product that caused it. The attorney also knows how long you have to make your claim, and the best type of case to file.

Strict Liability

Once you and your attorney determine you have a claim for strict liability, your attorney must enter a “notice of possible claim” within six months. Strict liability cases are very time-sensitive, so having a legal team that can handle your case and meet the filing and documentation deadlines is important.

The reason for this initial deadline is so the first company you contact can provide your attorney with a list of everyone else who may be involved with the case. For instance, suppose you were injured by a defective airbag, and you file a notice of claim with the mechanic who installed it. The mechanic must give your attorney a list of the manufacturer of the airbag, the company that sold it to them, and possibly the auto dealership.

The statute of limitations for strict liability claims is four years from the date of injury. These requirements are why you should have a knowledgeable attorney before considering a strict liability product defect case.

Negligence

Negligence is defined as a party having the duty to act in a specific way, failing to act in that way, and causing an injury due to that failure to act. Your attorney may recommend filing a negligence claim as well as a strict liability claim.

Strict liability does not require proving negligence. If you claim negligence, it may be against one of the individual parties in the case. For instance, the mechanic who installed the defective airbag may have also failed to notify you of a recall notice that was received when the airbag was delivered. In that case, the airbag itself would be defective, but the mechanic would be negligent.

The statute of limitations for negligence is six years from the date of injury. Minnesota has one of the longest statutes of limitation for negligence of any state.

Breach of Warranty

Products come with an implied “warranty of use” meaning they are safe when used as intended. If the manufacturer or distributor knew the product could be hazardous and failed to provide warning labels it may be in breach of warranty.

Some products come with a written or implied waiver of liability if they are known to be hazardous to the general public. For instance, knives are known to be sharp, so cutting yourself with the sharp edge of a knife is not a breach of warranty.

The statute of limitations for breach of warranty is four years from the date of the breach. This means if the potential for harm was not discovered until later, the breach begins on that date, not the date of purchase.

When you hire Tyroler Leonard Injury Law, we will review your case with you and discuss the best alternatives for filing and litigating your claim. We will do our best to answer your questions and cover all outcomes before we enter negotiations for you.

Frequently Asked Questions

Before you contact the defective product attorneys at Tyroler Leonard Injury Law, you may have questions about whether you have a product defect case or another type of personal injury case. These are some common questions we hear at our offices.

Contact Us

If you or a family member have been injured by a defective product you should act quickly. You have a limited time for your case to be reviewed and filed. If you have learned of a product recall or new warning and believe you may have used that product, you need to speak with a defective product attorney at once.

At Tyroler Leonard Injury Law, we are here to help our clients get the compensation they deserve for their injuries no matter what the cause. Our product liability attorneys and legal team will investigate your claim, gather the necessary evidence, and prepare your case.

Call us at 651-259-1113 or fill out our intake form to make an appointment for a free, confidential consultation with our team. We are here for you 24/7, so don’t wait. Call us today so we can begin working for the justice you deserve.

Client Testimonial

”The communication is prompt. The knowledge they have as a team will learn you a thing or two. The other law firms didn’t want my case so Isaac took it. Well, the other law firms missed out. Isaac and his team are amazing and they look out for you. I highly recommend Tyroler Injury & Accident Lawyer.” – Cash Khang (Google Review)

Attorney Isaac Tyroler

Attorney Isaac Tyroler has been a strong advocate for injured people his entire legal career. He has a passion for righting wrongs, and he deeply cares about representing injured clients who may feel overwhelmed or uncertain about how to navigate the legal system. He is compassionate toward clients and aggressive with insurance companies and defendants. He is on the elected Board of Governors of the Minnesota Association of Justice (MAJ), the top personal injury lawyers’ group in Minnesota. And is currently the chair of MAJ’s legislative committee. [ Attorney Bio ]