Defective products and toxic exposure
Hurt by a product that should have been safe?
When a product is dangerous because of how it was designed, how it was made, or because it came without adequate warnings, the companies that made and sold it can be responsible for the injuries it causes. Most people go through this once. Manufacturers and their insurers handle injury claims every day.
These guides cover defective products, food poisoning, and exposure to asbestos and chemicals, where illness can appear years after the exposure. Some of these cases are brought together with many others, in a class action or a mass tort. You shouldn’t have to become a legal expert to be treated fairly after a product hurts you.
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Start here
- Complete Product Liability Guide
- Complete Asbestos Exposure Guide
- Complete Class Action & Mass Tort Guide
10 guides in this section.
What to do first
Your first-week plan: four steps that protect your claim
Get medical care
Tell the doctor which product was involved and how you were using it.
Keep the product
With its packaging, receipt and instructions. Don’t repair it or throw it away.
Check for a recall
Search the federal government’s recall site, recalls.gov.
Talk to a lawyer first
Before the manufacturer or its insurer asks you to hand the product over.
What waiting can cost
- Evidence. Once a product is repaired, thrown away or handed over, the evidence may be gone.
- Exposure. Illness from asbestos or chemicals can appear years later, and deadlines still apply.
Guides
Every guide in defective products
- Complete Product Liability Guide
- Complete Asbestos Exposure Guide
- Complete Class Action & Mass Tort Guide
- Design Defect Laws
- Manufacturing defects: The Road To a Successful Product Liability Case
- Breach of Warranty: The Ins and Outs
- Suing For a Defective Product If You’re Not Injured
- Complete Food Poisoning Lawsuit Guide
- Toxic Exposure Lawsuits
- Can You Sue For Chemical Exposure?
What a good outcome looks like
The product and its packaging are kept safe, you know who made and sold it, and you know your deadline.
Common questions
Do I have to prove the manufacturer was careless?
Not always. In many states a manufacturer can be responsible for a defective product without proof of carelessness, but the rules vary by state and by the kind of claim.
What is the difference between a class action and a mass tort?
In a class action, one case represents a large group with similar claims, and members are usually included unless they opt out. In a mass tort, each person keeps an individual case, handled alongside many similar ones.
Other injuries