Damages Recoverable in Product Liability Cases

Damages Recoverable - Product Liability Lawyer Los Angeles

A person can suffer an injury from using a product with a defect or design flaw. You are entitled to file a product liability lawsuit against the at-fault party if this has happened to you. It’s essential to understand what you are entitled to in terms of damages and the basics of product liability lawsuits. Consulting with the best Los Angeles attorney for defective products can help as well.

A lawyer for faulty product liability can help you determine how much your case is worth. If your injuries are minor and you have only minor financial losses, you may not have to spend a lot of time and resources to even file a claim. Also, if your losses are on the smaller side, you are far less likely to be able to retain a lawyer to represent you in your claim.

The one exception to that rule is if the product in question has caused problems on a broad scale and resulted in various injuries and damages to victims across the country. In this situation, an attorney would be willing to engage in a class-action lawsuit.

With product liability claims that result in large-scale damages and serious injuries, it’s wise to have legal representation. They can help you to list everything you have suffered in your lawsuit and at the beginning of it so that you are ensured of recovering all the compensation you deserve for your injuries and other damages.

Damages are, essentially, the legal term for the amount of financial compensation awarded to an injured plaintiff in a product liability lawsuit. This money is meant to compensate the plaintiff for their injuries or punish the defendant for their outrageous, deliberate, or negligent act. While there are many types of damages that a plaintiff can recover in a lawsuit, they generally come down to a specific dollar amount that a judge or jury determines is appropriate for the defendant to pay to the plaintiff.

Damages can be broken down into two specific categories: compensatory and punitive damages. It’s important to understand the differences between these two types and what they entail.

Compensatory Damages

Compensatory damages are also known as actual damages. They are in place to pay a plaintiff for their injuries and make them whole again as they were before the accident or deliberate incident that rendered them injured. These damages seek to make the plaintiff whole again by determining a specific dollar amount to all factors that resulted in the person’s injuries.

It is not always possible to make the plaintiff whole again. For example, if the injuries they suffered become permanent and disabling, this cannot happen. Still, compensatory damages give the injured plaintiff an amount of money that is equal to the value of their injuries.

There are also two categories of compensatory damages: one category compensates for economic losses and the other for non-economic losses.

Economic Losses
Economic losses are damages that are considered unique in a product liability case. These are generally financial losses that the plaintiff did not get as a result of dealing with their injury. There are a variety of economic losses, but the following are the most common:

• Medical expenses: Medical expenses include any medical bills from doctors, hospitals, physical therapists, pharmacies, and more. They are accrued when an injured person requires continuous medical treatment and care and can be recovered to pay for these expenses.
• Cost of disability: This includes any financial loss that the plaintiff experiences if they need to make lifestyle changes as a result of their injuries. For instance, if you have suffered blindness after getting injured while using a defective product, you may need to attend a special school to adjust to your new disability,
• Loss of wages and profits: If an injured person cannot work due to their injury, they should add it to their list of damages. A business owner who loses out on profits because they are unable to manage their company can also claim this type of damage in a product liability lawsuit. Future wages or profits can also be claimed.
• Property loss or repair: If the defective product caused significant damage to your property, you could claim compensation for repairs or replacement of the property.

Non-Economic Losses
Non-economic losses are those that are considered general or non-monetary in nature. They are awarded to compensate an injured plaintiff for other problems stemming from their injury.

• Pain and suffering: can be claimed as a non-economic loss in product liability and other types of personal injury cases if the plaintiff has suffered pain, suffering, mental anguish, and a loss of enjoyment of their life due to their injuries. Overall, it’s impossible to place an exact dollar amount on this, but injury cases frequently include damages for pain and suffering.
• Loss of consortium: refers to a loss of companionship or a physical, sexual relationship with a spouse or significant other that stems from the plaintiff’s injuries. If this is a damage for which an injured plaintiff can claim, their spouse or significant other may also have a valid claim.

If you have suffered injuries due to a defective product, you will want the best personal injury lawyer in Los Angeles to represent you. By scheduling a consultation at Gutierrez Law, you will be able to discuss and strategize your case with a trusted legal professional. We will fight for your best interests and ensure you get the compensation you deserve.