Pittsburgh Product Liability Lawyer

Products are usually created to make your life easier. However, when these same products cause injury to users, they cause more harm than good. Product liability law in Pennsylvania is meant to help people who have been injured by dangerous or defective products seek justice from the people who design, manufacture, or sell those products to the public. Victims typically seek a Pittsburgh product liability lawyer to help in this process.

While these claims can quickly become complex, with potential issues in engineering, safety, and quality assurance, products should be safe when people use them in the way they were made to be used. Many product liability claims brought in Pittsburgh will go through the Allegheny County Courthouse located at 436 Grant St, Pittsburgh, PA 15219.

About SMT Legal

At SMT Legal, we pride ourselves on developing long-lasting relationships with our clients. We have deep roots in Pittsburgh and the surrounding areas and enjoy bringing elite-level representation to our clients with a personal touch. Our founding attorneys grew up together here in Pittsburgh and have maintained strong ties to the area ever since. That experience informs our focus on litigation, allowing us to handle difficult cases with significant consequences.

From catastrophic injury accidents to industrial accidents and defective products, we have experience preparing these types of cases and regularly see strong results for our clients. Our legal team is deeply connected to Pittsburgh’s legal scene, and we bring a collaborative, hardworking spirit to every case.

Understanding Product Liability Laws

Product liability cases are civil claims brought when a defective product causes harm. The legal responsibility for defects may fall on the manufacturer, designer, distributor, or retailer of the product.

Pennsylvania uses a strict liability statute in many product liability cases. Strict liability does not require the injured party to prove someone was negligent. According to the law, when a seller provides a product that’s both flawed and poses an unreasonable risk, they can be held liable. Claims are also limited by the statute of limitations for personal injury actions.

Product liability cases happen all over Pittsburgh and represent a wide variety of industries. From powerful heavy machinery to consumer kitchen appliances. The list of possibilities goes on and on, but the underlying theme is accountability.

Statistics

According to Injury Facts, emergency rooms treated 15.1 million patients in 2024 for injuries brought about by consumer goods. Common objects that are frequently thought to be safe cause many injuries. Soaps and detergents accounted for 12,530 injuries. Cooking ranges and ovens accounted for 9,062 injuries. Television sets and stands accounted for 6,467 injuries.

Crashworthiness in Product Liability Claims

Crashworthiness is a legal concept that applies to motor vehicles involved in an accident. When a car or other vehicle is in an accident, its primary job is to shield those inside from severe harm. Even though we can’t prevent every single accident, we absolutely can see that a car’s safety features work as they should. When a vehicle fails to do this, it can lead to a product liability claim. Examples of this can include:

• Airbags that fail to deploy or deploy with too much force
• Failure of seatbelts to function properly or restrain the driver
• Collapse of the roof during a rollover accident
• Failure of doors to latch, causing passengers to be ejected

In these cases, we focus on whether or not the vehicle made your injuries worse than they should have been. For example, if you were in an accident that was only meant to cause bruising, but you suffered a serious head injury because your seatbelt failed, the focus becomes the seatbelt failure and why it happened. Investigating crashworthiness issues usually requires deep technical scrutiny and an understanding of the proper safety standards.

Examples of Product Liability Cases

Product liability cases can exist in nearly every industry. They range from children’s toys to massive pieces of construction equipment. In Pittsburgh and surrounding areas, we see a lot of defective kitchen appliances, unsafe medical devices, and motor vehicle claims.

For example, a kitchen blender that suddenly overheats and causes burns could be a manufacturing defect. A step ladder that breaks upon normal use may have been designed incorrectly. Children’s toys with small pieces that are not labeled for choking hazards.

Defective Tools

We also see more complex cases, such as construction equipment malfunctions. If you were injured at work by a defective tool, you may be able to file a claim outside of workers’ compensation. Medical device malfunctions can also fall under product liability if the device you were given caused you to have serious internal injuries.

Motor vehicle claims often deal with crashworthiness issues. As mentioned above, we know how safety features in vehicles are supposed to function and work. If they fail during an accident, we can help you build a case against the responsible party.

Common Injuries with Defective Products

Injuries that stem from defective products can range from minor to life-changing. Some injuries that we commonly see include:

• Burns, including electrical, chemical, or overheating
• Traumatic brain injuries, such as from a failed safety belt or airbag
• Spinal cord injuries from failed structural integrity
• Fractures, including broken bones due to a defect

Crashworthiness claims often lead to more severe injuries. These claims focus on safety features within a vehicle that were designed to protect you from harm. If an airbag deploys with too much force, it can cause fracture injuries to the face and head. Ejection from the vehicle is also a concern when cars fail to latch shut during an impact. These injuries can often require lifelong care and treatment.

Damages in a Product Liability Claim

You are allowed to seek compensation for your injuries if they were caused by a defective product. You might be eligible to recover compensation for a variety of losses you’ve experienced. These damages can be economic or non-economic.

Economic damages include monetary losses such as lost wages and medical bills. Non-economic damages focus on the injury itself. This includes emotional distress, pain and suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life. Punitive damages may be awarded to the injured party in some cases. Punitive damages are intended to punish the defendant for their actions and deter them from doing it again.

If a manufacturer knows there is a risk to their product and still refuses to fix it or issue a recall, they could be subject to punitive damages. The value of your product liability case will depend on several factors. Not all settlements or verdicts are made public, but high-value cases often involve confidential settlements.

Liability in a Product Liability Case

In most product liability cases, there is not just one party at fault. Liability can spread across what’s known as the chain of distribution. The chain of distribution involves everyone who helped get the product from the manufacturer to your home. This can include:

• Manufacturers
• Distributors
• Wholesalers
• Retailers
• Other Responsible Parties

Manufacturers tend to be at the top of the chain and can include anyone who made parts that went into the product themselves. For example, should you find yourself in a car accident where an airbag malfunctioned and you were injured as a result, we’d investigate both the airbag maker and whoever manufactured its sensor.

Who’s Liable

Distributors and wholesalers can be liable if they helped distribute the defective product. Retailers can also be named in a claim even if they were unaware that the product was defective. The local car dealer you bought your vehicle from could be named in a claim, along with the car manufacturer.

In some cases, we can even hold designers, engineers, contractors, and quality-control workers liable if they had a part in the defect. Essentially, anyone who played a significant role in creating and allowing a dangerous product to be sold to the public can be held liable.

Types of Product Liability Claims

There are three main types of product liability claims. They focus on different types of defects that can occur. These include:

• Manufacturing defects
• Design defects
• Failure to warn

Manufacturing defects can include issues with the way a product was assembled or put together. This could be a seatbelt that wasn’t fastened right, or airbags with wiring issues prior to their installation. Design defects occur when the blueprints or plans for the product are incorrect. This could include issues with how a vehicle protects its occupants in a crash or if a safety feature is inherently flawed.

Failure to warn can be as simple as not having adequate instructions for the product. Alternatively, it could stem from a lack of warnings about dangers that aren’t easily noticed. Failing to warn about the dangers of airbag deployment force or improper seat positioning can be just as defective as the airbag exploding out of the seatbelt.

Proving Fault in Product Liability Cases

To prove a product liability case, you must prove several factors. Most of these factors are pretty straightforward. You must prove:

• You were injured
• The product was defective
• This defect caused your injuries
• You were using the product the way it was intended

What’s key from the start is proving you incurred some form of injury. If you were not injured by the product, you do not have a case. Gathering evidence is essential for demonstrating a product’s defect. This can include product designs, blueprints, reports, and drawings of the product. These will be needed to prove there was a defect in the product.

Causation is often the largest point of contention in these cases. Regarding crashworthiness, if your injuries stemmed from a car accident, we look at the process of proving how the vehicle played a part in making your injuries worse.

The Importance of Evidence

If your vehicle’s airbag malfunctioned and worsened your injuries instead of protecting you, we must demonstrate that this failure led to your life-altering harm. Without proof that the airbag caused you to be injured, you will not be able to recover for your damages.

Lastly, we have to prove that you were using the product appropriately. If you were using the product in a way that it was not intended to be used, you probably do not have a case. If you were using the top rack of the dishwasher as a step stool when it collapsed, you will likely not have a case.

Product liability cases are typically governed by a legal principle known as strict liability. This means we do not have to prove that the company was careless. You have to prove that the product was unreasonably dangerous when used as intended.

When to Hire a Product Liability Lawyer

If you are wondering if you should hire a product liability lawyer, you are not alone. Product liability cases can be overwhelming. The companies you will be going up against have vast resources and legal teams that will do anything they can to avoid taking responsibility. At SMT Legal, we take these types of cases seriously and handle them on a regular basis. If you were hurt by a product that was designed to keep you safe, you deserve compensation.

Our team deals with these kinds of situations constantly, focusing on building a lasting positive outcome for our clients. We believe your focus should be on your family’s needs, not on funding the manufacturer’s legal defense. Understanding your rights is the first step, and we’re here to help you every step of the way.

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What to Do if you are Injured by a Defective Product

If you have been injured due to a defective product, there are steps you can take to advocate for your future. You should typically do the following:

• Take prompt action. Contact a qualified Pittsburgh product liability attorney as soon as possible. You have rights, and they can protect them for you.
• Seek medical attention. If you were hurt by a defective product, see a doctor. Your health is important. You should always get medical help if you need it. In addition, medical records can serve as evidence when you decide to file a claim.
• Preserve the evidence. If you received an injury due to a defective product, do not throw it away. Do not try to fix it, either. Your attorney and their professional witnesses can inspect the product to determine what went wrong. Keep all associated evidence, such as photographs, the receipt of purchase, and the original packaging.
• Document everything. Write down everything you remember about what happened. Include how you were using the product when it injured you.
• Be careful what you say. The last thing you want is for your words to be used against you after an accident. Manufacturers and their insurers may use statements you made in the weeks and months following an accident to dispute your claim. You should understand your rights before speaking to insurance companies and others.

An attorney at SMT Legal can help you in the legal process after your injury so you can recover the compensation you need.

FAQs

Contact SMT Legal Today

When you or a loved one is affected by something that simply should not have happened, knowing that there is a legal way to try and seek justice can be comforting. In Pittsburgh, our local legal framework is anchored by the Allegheny County Courthouse and its adherence to established laws. We also take each case’s individual facts into consideration.

Having the facts is a huge advantage as you consider your next steps after an injury. This can help you know what questions to ask, how to assess your situation, and how to proceed with confidence through what can often be a confusing and overwhelming process. SMT Legal can help. Contact us today for more information.