As a consumer, you have a reasonable expectation that whichever product you are using at any given moment is a safe one. Whether it’s a new brand of food, a new vehicle or a new toy for your child, we rely heavily on manufacturers to ensure our own safety and the safety of our loved ones.
Unfortunately, products are recalled often when defects are found, but news of those recalls doesn’t always make it to consumers in time for them to return the defective product.
The company that manufactured and sold the defective product has got to be held accountable, which is why you as a consumer have the right to hire an attorney and pursue a claim.
What do you do if you’ve been harmed by a defective product?
The first thing you should do if you’ve been injured or harmed by a defective product is to determine whether said product is the target of a recall. You can do this by visiting the Consumer Product Safety Commission website.
If the product in question is on a recall list, the Consumer Product Safety Commission should have instructions on the product and what to do with it. Read the information on the CPSC website carefully. If you’ve been harmed by a product that is on the list, you could be eligible for compensation.
What if the product has not been recalled?
If you can’t find the defective product on the CPSC website, it could be that the product hasn’t been recalled — yet. That doesn’t mean that the company wasn’t responsible for the product’s failure, and that doesn’t mean the company isn’t liable for any damage that the defective product might have caused.
Here’s how you can report a defective product to the Consumer Product Safety Commission:
- Through the website, www.cpsc.gov
- Via email by emailing hazard@cpsc.gov
- You can report it on the phone by calling 1-800-638-2772
- You can report it via fax by faxing 1-800-809-0924.
- You can mail your complaint to US Consumer Product Safety Commission, Injury Report, Washington, DC 20207.
Be sure to keep the defective product. Don’t throw it away. It can be used as evidence at a later date.
After you have reported the defective product, it’s time to decide whether you want to explore further compensation options. That’s where an experienced product liability attorney comes in.
If you or someone you love has been harmed by a defective product, contact Kara Samuels’ office today.
