Bellingham Attorneys for Product Liability Lawsuits
Bellingham is a city in Whatcom County that is considered one of the gateways to an export economy. Goods produced in the city include boats, lumber, processed frozen foods, and refined oil and petroleum products. Manufacturers located in the Bellingham area include Avon, Sherwin-Williams, Nike, Techtronic Industries North America, PACCAR, Alcoa, Janicki Industries, Hexcel, Timken, and Alpha Technologies. The county is also home to various equipment suppliers and repairmen. If you or a loved one were harmed by a dangerous product, whether a car or an appliance, or a medication, you should give the experienced Bellingham product liability attorneys of Walton Law a call. Our principal Chris Walton is an award-winning trial attorney, rated AV Preeminent, the highest rating bestowed by Martindale-Hubbell. He is dedicated to providing personalized service.
Product Liability
When you buy a product, you may assume it will be safe to use. Unfortunately, products from machines to vehicles and from medications to appliances can be defective and cause serious injury or even wrongful death, even when used correctly. If you are injured by a product that is defective in terms of its marketing, manufacturing, or marketing, you may be able to recover damages.
A product manufacturer can be held liable for damage under RCW 7.72.030 when your harm was proximately (legally) caused by a manufacturer’s negligence where a product was (1) not reasonably safe as designed, (2) not reasonably safe because the manufacturer did not provide adequate warnings or instructions, or (3) when a product left the manufacturer’s control in a condition that deviated in a significant way from its design. Our product liability lawyers serving Bellingham may be able to pursue damages if you were injured by a product that had a design, marketing, or manufacturing defects.
Design Defects
Design defects are flaws that exist in every specimen of the product. Under Washington law, products are not reasonably safe as designed, when, at the time they were made, the likelihood they would cause harm to you and the severity of harm you’d suffer outweighed the burden of designing the product in a way that would prevent the harms. For example, a manufacturer could be held responsible when a sports utility vehicle (SUV) is designed to be top-heavy in a way that resulted too easily in rollovers.
Marketing Defects
Marketing defects typically involve failure to warn or inadequate warnings. For example, if a manufacturer knows that using the drug it makes carries a high risk of contracting cancer, and warnings are not given to doctors before they prescribe it, a court might hold the manufacturer responsible for a marketing defect. There may be medical malpractice claims that should also be pursued in that situation.
Manufacturing Defects
Our Bellingham product liability attorneys may also be able to hold a manufacturer accountable if you were injured because a product does not adhere to a design. For example, if the plastic on a safety feature of a tool has been poured improperly and as a result, you sawed a finger off, the manufacturer of the saw could be held responsible for the resulting losses.
A manufacturer can also be held accountable if a product did not conform to its express or implied warranty.
Seller Liability
The Washington Product Liability Act restricts sellers’ liability when they aren’t also manufacturers. They can be held legally responsible, however, when their negligence caused a product to be unsafe, they breached an express warranty they made, or they intentionally concealed or misrepresented facts about a dangerously defective product.
Damages
If our lawyers are able to demonstrate a manufacturer’s liability, we may be able to recover losses such as pain and suffering, lost wages, lost earning capacity, medical expenses, costs of emergency care, replacement services, and emotional distress.
Consult an Experienced Product Liability Attorney
Going up against a big manufacturer in a product liability lawsuit is challenging. It’s crucial to have an experienced product liability attorney serving Bellingham by your side to advocate for you with the same tenacity and skill that the manufacturer’s attorneys are likely to have if you’ve been injured by a dangerous product. We understand you might not be able to meet with us during normal business hours, so we offer both evening and weekend appointments. Call our seasoned firm at (866) 338-7079 or online to schedule a free consultation.