Tampa Defective Products Lawyer Stands Up for Injured Consumers

Effective representation leading to full and fair compensation

When you buy a car, an appliance, a medication or any other consumer product, you have the right to expect it to be reasonably safe. Unfortunately, across the country, defective products injure tens of thousands of consumers ever year, some fatally. If a defective product harms you, you are entitled to full personal injury compensation for your medical bills, lost earnings, physical pain and mental suffering. Sessums Law Group, P.A. is determined to help you get the damage award you deserve. Led by Mark A. Sessums, certified as a civil trial attorney by the Florida Board of Legal Specialization and Education and the National Board of Trial Advocacy, our legal team has the skill and resources to challenge powerful corporations and hold them accountable.

The basics of Florida products liability law

Products liability protects consumers from defective products. Essentially, the law makes companies that produce, market and distribute dangerous products liable for the injuries those products cause when consumers use them in any way that was reasonably foreseeable. If you bought a defective product and it injured you, you may be eligible to recover personal injury damages.

There are three basic types of product defects:

• Design — This type of defect occurs in the planning stages. The classic example is the old Ford Pinto, a compact car with its gas tank positioned outside the steel frame, where it could easily be punctured in a rear-end collision when the bumper was crushed inward. After several Pintos burst into flames, Ford had to recall the car and pay injury and wrongful death settlements. Other design defects include baby cribs with slats spaced far enough apart that a baby’s head can be trapped between them and highchairs that become top-heavy and unstable when children are placed in them.
• Manufacture — This type of defect creeps into the product while it’s being built. Shoddy materials and poor craftsmanship can cause a manufacturing defect. Examples are car brakes that suddenly stop working and children’s toys that are finished with lead-based paint. Manufacturing defects can affect an entire line of products or just one botched item. Naturally, when the defect is more prevalent, the case is easier to prove.
• Labeling — There are some products that are inherently dangerous but can be used safely with proper care. These products require adequate labeling to alert the consumer to the problem so the consumer can take precautions. When labeling is inadequate and a consumer is hurt as a result, the company can be held liable. Labeling defects or “failure to warn” affects a wide range of products, from power tools to prescription drugs.

Consumers purchase products in good faith, and when those products cause harm, they deserve full compensation.

Challenges to a successful products liability case

In a product defect case, the injured plaintiff usually does not have to prove the defendant was negligent in producing or marketing a defective product. A standard of strict liability usually applies, so you must be able to prove these elements:

• The defect existed at the time of sale.
• The defect caused your injury.

You do not have to prove that you used the product exactly as intended, but you must show that you used the product in a reasonable manner that the manufacturer should have foreseen.

But the greatest challenge to a products liability case is the strength of the defendant. Major corporations that mass-produce consumer products have almost unlimited resources to defend liability lawsuits. To get the most from your claim, you need an experienced and determined injury attorney at your side.

Contact our Tampa injury attorneys for your products liability case

Sessums Law Group, P.A. represents consumers in the Tampa Bay area who have been harmed by defective products. To learn how we can help you pursue full compensation for your injuries, please call 813-435-5058 or contact us online to schedule an appointment. We have locations in Tampa, Lakeland, Sebring and Sarasota.