When consumers purchase products, they have a reasonable expectation that those goods are safe to use. Defective, poorly designed, or improperly labeled products can all cause serious injuries. If you’ve been hurt by a defective item, you might be wondering how to file a product liability claim in California. The process can be more complicated than you might think.

Immediate Steps to Take After an Injury

If you’ve been injured due to a defective product, the steps you take immediately following the incident can have an impact on your eventual claim. Before doing anything else, you should:

  • Seek medical attention. You should always prioritize your health and safety. Additionally, the medical records produced during your care can be used as evidence in your claim.
  • Preserve the product. Don’t dispose of or attempt to fix the defective product. You may need it as evidence.
  • Document everything. If you can, take photos of the product, surroundings, and your injuries before you get them treated. Write down all the details of what happened while they’re still clear, and be sure to keep any correspondence with doctors or the company.

How to Initiate Your Claim

Once you’ve sought medical care and documented the incident, it’s time to consult a product liability attorney. An experienced attorney can evaluate the particulars of your case and let you know whether you have the basis for a solid claim. If you do, your attorney can help you:

  • Determine liability. Sometimes, it’s not clear which party is liable in a product liability claim. The manufacturer is often to blame, but the retailer or distributor may also be held liable in some circumstances.
  • File paperwork. California places strict statutes of limitations on filing product liability claims. Be sure to start the process of completing and filing your paperwork as quickly as possible to avoid running up against those deadlines.
  • Engage in discovery. Both sides have to exchange relevant information and evidence during a process known as discovery. You can make requests for documents, interrogatories, and depositions of any parties involved, including witnesses.
  • Evaluate evidence. Bring all the evidence you collected in the initial stages to your attorney for evaluation. They may want to see your medical records, the product itself, and any correspondence with the product manufacturer or retailer.
  • Determine damages. You’re probably aware that you can be compensated for medical bills and lost wages stemming from the use of a defective product. However, your attorney may be able to identify potential damages that you might otherwise overlook.

Settlement Negotiations

Courtroom trials are expensive and can take a long time to complete, so claimants and plaintiffs generally prefer to settle claims outside of court. This process involves ongoing settlement negotiations, which your lawyer can often perform on your behalf. Your lawyer can use all the evidence you gathered and evaluated in earlier steps to build a case for what damages you should be awarded and how much they are worth.

What Happens if My Case Goes to Trial?

In some cases, claimants and plaintiffs are unable to come to a settlement agreement, and the case must go to trial. When that happens, your attorney can present your case before a judge and jury, and the opposing party can present their defense. The jury or judge then determines liability and renders a verdict.

How a Lawyer Can Help

In 2024, personal injury and product liability case filings increased by 78%. The range of compensation packages awarded was significant, with some as low as $840 and others as high as almost $374 million. The average payout in 2020 was $2,448,978.

These claimants didn’t get the compensation they deserved alone. They worked with product liability lawyers who were able to identify all potential damages and utilize their knowledge to fight for better compensation from the insurance companies. You stand to gain significantly from hiring a lawyer.

FAQs

What Is the Product Liability Law in California?

The product liability law in California holds manufacturers, distributors, and retailers strictly liable for any injuries that occur due to defective products. Liability is determined by the product’s condition rather than the seller’s fault, and the product liability laws cover everything from design defects to manufacturing flaws and a failure to warn of potential dangers.

What Are Typical Claims for a Product Liability Case?

Typical claims for a product liability case are focused on manufacturing, design, and marketing defects. Manufacturing defects occur when an error in production leads to a dangerous product being sold to consumers. Design defects involve inherently unsafe products. Marketing defects include a failure to provide adequate instructions or warn consumers of potential dangers.

What Is the Time Limit for Product Liability Claims?

The time limit for product liability claims in the Golden State is two years for personal injury and three years for property damage. These statutes of limitation begin when you discover the injury or damage. However, if the injury isn’t immediately apparent following the incident that caused it, you may only have one year from its discovery to file your claim.

What Are the Steps to Follow in Filing a Product Liability Claim?

The steps to follow in filing a product liability claim are seeking medical care for any injuries caused by the product, documenting the incident, keeping the defective product, and hiring a product liability attorney. Your attorney can help you with building a case and pursuing a settlement or, if necessary, litigating the case in court.

Hire a Product Liability Lawyer

Now that you have a better idea of how to file a product liability claim in California, it’s time to take action and hire a product liability lawyer. The team at Thon Beck Vanni Callahan & O’Connor can help. We’ve been in practice for more than 40 years, and in that time, we’ve used our in-depth understanding of California product liability laws to help our clients win their cases and recover hundreds of millions in damages. Contact us to schedule an initial consultation today.