If you’re hosting Thanksgiving this year, you may have a lot of worries. You may be worried about how much food you need. You may also worry if you have enough seating for everyone, or if everyone in the family will get along. One thing that may not be on your mind, that can be a cause for concern, is fires.
Thanksgiving Brings an Increase of Fires
The rate of residential fires increases by 2.3 times the rate of any other day. Thanksgiving Day fires do tend to be less severe, however, often leading to fewer injuries and damages lost. An estimated 2,400 fires occur on Thanksgiving Day each year in the United States. Most of these fires occur in single-family residential buildings.
The majority of Thanksgiving day fires are caused when cooking. While this can be a user error, it can also be due to defective equipment. If there’s a problem with the oven or fryer, it can lead to a fire.
What Does Product Liability Mean?
Product liability is when a manufacturer is responsible for a defect that leads to an injury. An example of this could be a faulty oven, which leads to a house fire. Product liability falls into three types:
- Manufacturing defect: A manufacturing defect occurs when there is a mistake that occurs during the manufacturing of the product.
- Design defect: A design defect occurs when the problem is with the product’s design, rather than manufacturing.
- Failure to warn: A failure to warn occurs when the manufacturer doesn’t provide sufficient information on the direction of how to safely use the product.
Simply put, when a defective product leads to an injury, it may be eligible for a product liability case. If a poorly manufactured or designed oven leads to a fire, the injured victims may be able to seek compensation from the responsible party.
How to Navigate a Product Liability Case
Dealing with the consequences of a fire can be costly and painful. You may have to receive ongoing medical care for burns. You may even have to take time off from work to recover. Of course, there is the cost of damages to also consider. It’s important to begin collecting evidence as soon as possible. This includes photographs of the defective product, as well as your injuries. It’s also a good idea to keep all medical records.
New Jersey law requires specific elements to be present when filing a defective product case. For this reason, it may be beneficial to reach out to a lawyer to help with your case. A product liability lawyer can help with investigating the fire, as well as the product. This usually requires expert witnesses and a good investigative team. You also need sufficient proof that the product was defective, and that the defectiveness is what led to the fire. The manufacturer or designer is likely to have their own legal team, who may argue that there wasn’t anything wrong with the product.
Contact an Egg Harbor Personal Injury Lawyer to Discuss Your Defective Product Case in New Jersey
Did you or a loved one sustain serious injuries due to a defective product in New Jersey? Don’t let the medical bills pile up while you wait for the negligent party or their insurance company to do the right thing. Right now, you need an aggressive personal injury attorney on your side, fighting to get you the compensation you need, want, and deserve. The skilled attorneys at The Law Offices of Richard A. Stoloff represent clients injured because of a defective product in Egg Harbor, Atlantic City, Galloway Township, Hamilton, and throughout New Jersey. Call (609) 601-2233 or fill out our online contact form to schedule a free consultation about your case. We have an office conveniently located at 605 New Road, Linwood, NJ 08221, as well as an office in Philadelphia, PA.
The articles on this blog are for informative purposes only and are no substitute for legal advice or an attorney-client relationship. If you are seeking legal advice, please contact our law firm directly.