Are There Hidden Dangers in Your Own Home?

Jun 10, 2020

We spend a lot of time in our homes, and we think of them as safe havens. We also make important purchases for our homes that help our lives run more smoothly and comfortably. When one of these products ends up being dangerous instead, it can be especially difficult. If you or your loved one has been injured by a defective product in your home, you need an experienced Northwest Indiana product liability attorney on your side.

Dangerous Product Defects

While nearly any consumer good you have in your home can be defective, there are certain products that are most commonly associated with such risks, including:

Appliances – The appliances in our homes play an important role, but when defective, they can lead to dangerous accidents and serious injuries. Some examples include washers and dryers that lead to electrical fires and/or serious burns, faulty heating units that leak carbon monoxide, defective toasters, microwaves, pressure cookers, and other faulty countertop appliances, and stoves and ovens that pose serious threats.
Furniture – Furniture probably doesn’t strike you as being particularly dangerous, but that’s a misconception. Seating that suddenly collapses under someone can result in injuries. Further, heavy furniture that is unstable and tips over can lead to devastating or even life-threatening injuries, especially to children. In other words, furniture can be deceptive when it comes to household hazards.
Children’s Items – The most concerning product defects of all might be those that injure the most vulnerable among us – our children. Children’s clothing that fails to meet the appropriate standards of fire retardation, toys that incorporate choking hazards and/or toxic paint, and drop-side cribs, high chairs, swings, or car seats that end up injuring infants are just a few examples of possible defects in children’s products.
Prescriptions and Over-the-Counter Drugs – We take medications to help us maintain and improve our health, but sometimes the presumed cure is worse than the disease itself. The drugs we turn to for their health-giving properties can have serious side effects, can lack the necessary warnings that would provide us with valuable safety information, and can be manufactured defectively – to name a few of the possible dangers.

Product Liability: The Basics

Product liability law is quite complicated, but understanding the basics can help you better understand your case. For product liability law to pertain, the following must apply:

The product was purchased by someone (although, the injured party need not be the original purchaser).
The manufacturer, a manufacturer of parts used, the wholesaler, and/or the retail store that sold the product can all be implicated in liability for the defective product.
The product in question must have been defective, which caused the product to be unreasonably dangerous, and the injury you sustained must have been directly caused by this defect.

An Experienced Northwest Indiana Product Liability Attorney Can Help

If you’ve been injured by a defective product in your home, the dedicated Indiana product liability attorneys at Tanzillo Stassin & Babcock, P.C., are committed to aggressively advocating for the compensation to which you are entitled. For more information, please don’t hesitate to contact us today.