How Your Products Liability Attorney Prepares Your Case

How Does an Attorney Prepare a Product Liability Claim?

Your attorney prepares a product liability claim by examining each element of the claim and gathering the evidence to support your position. Evidence gathering may include investigation of witness testimony, preparation of expert testimony, evaluation of photographs, medical evidence, discovery procedures, and more. Your attorney also uses the judicial process to raise legal issues and strategize to build your claim before trial.

How Your Attorney Prepares a Products Liability Claim

Preparing a products liability claim begins with understanding the basis for the products liability claim. There are several types of products liability claims including defective design, manufacturing defect, and breach of warranty. The elements of each kind of case are different. Your attorney starts by determining what type of products liability case you have. Once your attorney identifies the elements of the products liability claim, they set to work gathering the evidence to prove each part of the claim.

Product liability cases are unique in that the victim doesn’t have to show that the product manufacturer acted negligently when they made the product. Instead, the victim has to show only that the product is defective when it enters the stream of commerce. For that reason, your attorney is likely to focus on proving the existence of the product’s defect rather than proving exactly how the company made an error that resulted in the defect.

Your Products Liability Attorney Conducts an Independent Investigation

Building your products liability case begins with your attorney’s independent investigation. Your attorney starts by hearing your story. They work to gather relevant evidence that’s available from you and third parties. The evidence that your attorney gathers might include any of the following:

• Your testimony
• The defective product itself
• Photos of the defective product
• Photos and medical documentation of your injuries
• Accident reconstruction from an expert witness
• Statements of third-party witnesses
• Documentation of your financial losses and damages
• Expert testimony about the severity and duration of your injuries
• Expert testimony about the link between the product defect and your injuries

The defective product in your case may be the only defective product of its kind, or it may be one of many defective products. Your attorney may research to see if there are other incidents like yours that may be helpful to prove your case.

Your Attorney Uses the Discovery Process

In addition to gathering evidence from you and from third-parties, there’s probably information in the hands of the defendant that’s relevant to your claim. Your attorney can use a process called discovery to demand evidence from the other party.

The discovery process may include requesting records of designs or information about the manufacturing process. It may involve requiring employees to testify under oath about their products or production of the specific product in question. Using the discovery process to gather records can be helpful to prove how the product is defective. When used effectively, discovery can narrow the issues in dispute and make your products liability case stronger.

Your Lawyer Uses Legal Motions to Improve the Presentation of Your Case

Building your case for trial involves using the legal process to develop a case strategy and make it easier to present the case to the court. Your attorney may file a preliminary motion to prevent the other side from presenting irrelevant information to the jury.

A preliminary motion may ask the court to decide some issues of the case as a matter of law without needing to present them to the jury for consideration. There are many types of preliminary motions. Using preliminary legal motions can ensure that your case is presented in the best possible way and that the other side isn’t able to use improper tactics to distract the jury from the issues at hand.

Your Products Liability Attorney Prepares Key Points of Trial Advocacy

While most cases settle before trial, if your case goes to trial, your attorney must be fully prepared for anything. Preparing your products liability case means preparing an opening statement that details what the evidence is going to show at trial. It means preparing testimony for witnesses and preparing for cross-examination of the other party’s witnesses.

If there are evidentiary issues, your attorney prepares by identifying the rules of evidence involved and considering the arguments necessary to receive a favorable ruling on each issue. Your attorney determines what witnesses to call, how to present the evidence and what arguments to make the case effective.

Your Attorney Prepares for Non-Trial Resolution Proceedings

Part of advocating effectively for a product liability victim involves preparing for non-trial resolution proceedings. Even though there’s no judge or jury at a mediation session, having the right evidence and arguments prepared can still be enough to sway the proceeding towards a favorable result. Your attorney builds your case by preparing for mediation in advance. Successful case preparation involves preparing for mediation as well as preparing the case for trial.

Our Product Liability Attorneys in Las Vegas Want to Help You Build Your Case

Building a products liability case requires careful thought and detailed effort. At Adam S. Kutner, Injury Attorneys, we have represented thousands of accident victims including victims of products liability injuries. We know how important it is to build your claim, and we work tirelessly on behalf of each client. The sooner we begin, the sooner we can start to build your case for you. Are you hurt because of a dangerous product? Contact us today to talk about your case.