Who can be named
A product liability claim is not limited to the store where you bought the item. Depending on the facts, the manufacturer of the finished product, the maker of a component, a distributor, an importer, and a retailer may all be in the chain. A claim can usually rest on more than one legal theory, and the choice of theory shapes what has to be proven and against whom. Companies based overseas raise questions about service and jurisdiction, and sometimes the domestic importer becomes the practical defendant. The filing deadline generally runs from the injury, although some situations, such as exposure to a toxic substance, follow different rules.
The product is the evidence
Keep the product and every piece of it, unaltered and uncleaned. Do not try to repair it, send it back to the manufacturer, or let an insurer take it away without a lawyer's involvement, because testing usually has to be done in a way all sides can observe. Save the packaging, the manual, the receipt or order confirmation, and photos of the label showing the model and serial or lot number. Check whether a recall has been announced, but do not assume that the absence of a recall means the product was safe. Medical records connecting the injury to the incident matter as much as the product itself.
How the claim takes shape
Early on, we work out what happened, which part of the product appears to have failed, and whether others have reported the same problem. We talk about whether a technical witness will be needed to examine the item, and when. We also look at whether anything about how the product was used, modified, or maintained will be raised by the other side, since in New York comparative fault reduces a recovery rather than ending it, while some other states apply stricter rules. If the injury led to a death, the claim is brought differently, and we explain who has authority to bring it.
