Need A Defective Product Injury lawyer In St. Louis?
When you purchase a product, whether you have just purchased it for the first time or you have used it many times in the past, you expect it will perform as intended, and not pose a danger to you and your family. While most of the time this is true, products also often go haywire, leading to serious injuries. You may have a medical device that ends up causing worse problems for your health than the ones it was intended to help with, or an electronic home product that explodes and causes severe burns.
If you suffered serious injuries due to a defective product, you may have grounds for a product liability claim. Call the St. Louis product liability attorneys at The Bruning Law Firm today to learn more about your right to compensation. In the meantime, read on for more information about our firm, product liability claims, and how to recover compensation if a defective product injured you.
The Bruning Law Firm: Helping St. Louis Residents Manage Product Liability Claims
At The Bruning Law Firm, our experienced product liability attorneys have extensive experience helping our clients manage a wide range of cases, including several cases that involved product liability claims.
Our past results speak for themselves:
- $50 million for a family after a defective smoke detector failed to warn them about a fire, tragically resulting in the deaths of two children
- $2.9 million for a family whose defective computer power cord started a house fire, also leading to the deaths of two children
- $2.5 million for a driver who was seriously injured when a faulty airbag failed to deploy
- $2.41 million in a case where a defective insulation product caused a warehouse fire
- $600,000 in a case where a defective coffee maker caused a house fire. The case resulted in the recall of over 7 million coffee makers.
Our attorneys cannot guarantee the results of your St. Louis product liability claim, since the compensation you can recover depends on the unique facts of your case, including the nature of the product defect, the injuries it caused, and the expenses and impacts it has had on your life. However, our experienced product liability attorneys can deliver valuable services to help maximize the amount of compensation you can recover in your product liability claim.
We help our product liability clients understand the full compensation they deserve.
Products don’t just malfunction and cause serious injuries sometimes, or are something people should just expect. If you exercised due diligence to ensure your family’s safety and only used the product as intended, and the product failed to work, resulting in serious injury, you should be compensated. We help our product liability clients understand their right to compensation, including whom they can hold responsible and the expenses and impacts they can claim in their compensation demand.
We provide our clients with assistance at every stage of their product liability claims.
At The Bruning Law Firm, we are there every step of the way to help our clients feel supported as they move through the product liability claim process. From the earliest stages of a product liability claim, you can encounter stressful challenges, such as having to contend with insurance companies, who will probe and level a litany of questions at you about your claim to determine whether they can deny or minimize the amount they payout. We help support you, from dealing with the insurance company on your behalf to providing the answers to any questions you might have about your claim or your legal rights if the insurance company refuses to deal fairly with you.
We help our product liability clients maximize the compensation they recover.
Whether you can settle out of court and need help negotiating with the insurance company, or you need to file a lawsuit in court to get the fair compensation you deserve for your injuries, The Bruning Law Firm can help.
We know the art of negotiating with insurance companies, and the know-how to hold their feet to the fire in court if they refuse to deal reasonably. Having an attorney on your side tends to send a message to big corporations and their insurance companies that you are taking your claim seriously and will fight for the compensation you deserve, which may in and of itself increase the compensation they offer.
Other times, you may need help putting together a complete case to present in court and get a judge to order the defendants to pay for your damages. For this, you need an experienced personal injury lawyer to guide you through the ins and outs of the complex litigation process.
Types of Product Liability Claims
In general, product liability claims fall into one of three categories.
1. Defective Design
A product with a defective design is produced according to the manufacturer’s design—the problem is that the design itself is fundamentally flawed. That design may pose a serious danger to its users or result in a product that behaves unexpectedly, even when used according to the manufacturer’s directions. For instance, a toy manufacturer may have intentionally used metal as the material for its toy, but failed to account for the danger the sharp edges of the metal on the toy pose when children are playing with it as to be expected. Or it might have caught fire, setting your home ablaze.
2. Manufacturing Defect
The product that malfunctioned may have a solid, trustworthy design that would ensure it is safe, but if the manufacturer fails to put it together properly, it can result in serious injury for anyone who uses it. Manufacturing defects may involve malfunctions in the assembly of a product. As a result, products that go through while the manufacturer fails to address the malfunction may be weak, toxic, or otherwise dangerous. They may fail to operate—like a smoke alarm that doesn’t go off when a house catches fire.
3. Inadequate Instructions or Warnings
As part of the manufacturing process for a product, the manufacturer must provide adequate instructions on how to use that product properly and warnings designed to help protect the user and prevent unsafe usage of the product. For example, hairdryers typically come with a warning about not using the product around sources of water, since a user can be electrocuted if the hairdryer comes into contact with water. This warning helps ensure that users understand exactly how the product should work and how to use it properly to avoid serious injuries. Failure to provide those instructions and warnings, however, may result in the improper use of the product and lead to serious injury.
Product Liability Statistics
Product liability is not a rare occurrence. The scope of injuries caused by defective and dangerous products in the United States is staggering, and understanding these numbers can help illustrate why holding manufacturers accountable matters so much for consumer safety.
According to data from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS), approximately 15 million emergency room-treated injuries result from consumer products each year. These are not minor incidents. They include severe burns from malfunctioning appliances, traumatic brain injuries from defective equipment, and life-altering injuries from products that consumers trusted to be safe.
The CPSC issued over 300 product recalls in 2024 alone, spanning everything from household appliances and children's products to automotive parts and power tools. Children's products, automotive parts, and household appliances are among the most commonly recalled product categories. Each recall represents a product that made it to market despite posing a serious risk to consumers, and many injuries occur before a recall is ever announced.
When product liability cases do go to trial, juries take these matters seriously. The average product liability jury verdict is approximately $7 million (mean), with a median verdict of roughly $1.5 million. It is important to note that most product liability cases settle for significantly less than jury verdicts, but these figures demonstrate that juries recognize the serious harm defective products cause and are willing to compensate victims accordingly.
Medical devices represent a particularly concerning category. The FDA receives over 2 million medical device adverse event reports per year, reflecting the widespread impact of defective medical products on patient health. From vehicle safety components to surgical implants, defective products touch every area of daily life, and the consequences can be devastating.
Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Injuries
Dangerous drugs and defective medical devices represent some of the most devastating product liability cases our St. Louis product liability attorneys handle. Unlike a defective consumer appliance that you can stop using immediately, pharmaceutical and medical device injuries often involve products that are already inside your body or that you depend on for critical medical treatment.
Pharmaceutical injuries can take many forms, including dangerous side effects that manufacturers knew about but failed to adequately warn patients and doctors about, contamination during the manufacturing process that introduces harmful substances into medications, and drug interactions that were not properly studied or disclosed before the product reached the market. In some cases, the drug itself is inherently dangerous and should never have been approved for use.
Defective medical devices, including hip implants, surgical mesh, pacemakers, insulin pumps, and joint replacements, can cause severe complications that require additional surgeries, extended hospital stays, and long-term rehabilitation. When a medical device fails, the consequences are often worse than the original condition it was meant to treat. Patients may face chronic pain, infection, organ damage, or even life-threatening complications.
These cases often differ from standard product liability claims because they frequently involve mass tort litigation or multidistrict litigation (MDL), where hundreds or thousands of injured patients bring claims against the same manufacturer. The FDA recall process for drugs and devices can also provide critical evidence in these cases. If you have been harmed by a medication or medical device, it is important to consult with a product liability attorney who understands the unique complexities of pharmaceutical and medical device litigation. Contact The Bruning Law Firm to discuss your case.
Recovering Compensation for a Defective Product Accident in St. Louis
If you suffered serious injuries due to a defective product in St. Louis, you may need to seek compensation through a product liability claim. St. Louis’s economy relies on industries that use products that can endanger the people who use them, including aviation, biotechnology, chemicals, and manufacturing. Many of the products used in these industries can cause serious injury to users and bystanders if a designer or manufacturer is negligent. In such cases, victims of the product defect immediately have questions about the compensation they can recover to cover the medical bills, lost wages, and other impacts they’ve experienced as a result.
A St. Louis product liability victim’s recovery will depend on variables that will determine who they look to for compensation and how much they can recover.
Who caused your injuries in a product liability accident?
Often, if you suffer injuries because of a defective product, the manufacturer is the one to blame.
However, you may also want to take a look at other parties that may have contributed to your accident.
- The Manufacturer of Component Parts in the Product. Sometimes, the manufacturer of the main product may not have produced a particular component that malfunctioned. While the manufacturer could still be on the hook for procuring the services of the manufacturer of the part, the component manufacturer may bear the brunt of the responsibility for your injuries.
- The Party That Assembles or Installs a Product. If the assembler or installer fails to do their work correctly, they may be to blame for your injuries. Consider, for example, a water heater that does not get installed properly or a smoke alarm system that the installer fails to hook up properly. Those products might then fail to work properly, because of the faulty installation, leading to severe injury for the party that purchased them.
- The Retail Store That Sold the Product. Retail stores are responsible for sourcing reliable products that they are assured are safe for their customers. If the store where you purchased the product deliberately purchased knockoff products or sourced them from a disreputable manufacturer, you may have grounds for a claim against the retail store.
- The Product Distributor. Like retailers, distributors may need to pay careful attention to where the products come from and what elements impact them and their installation. Distributors must ensure they only distribute products that have been proven safe for consumers down the line.
Any party that was negligent in producing, transporting, installing, or otherwise affecting the product in a way that caused the injury may bear liability. Thus, manufacturers, distributors, retailers, and others involved with a product are likely to carry insurance policies specifically to provide compensation in the event of an incident. That insurance policy may have specific limitations, including the amount the company will pay out for injuries caused by the insured and how much the policy will pay out. How much compensation you can recover may depend on the specific limits of that policy.
How severe are your injuries?
Many product liability accident victims suffer severe injuries. The worse your injuries, the higher your medical bills are likely to be. Product liability incidents can cause many different types of injuries, depending on the type of product used and how the incident occurs.
Injuries may include:
- Burns
- Traumatic brain injury (TBI)
- Back and neck injuries
- Broken bones, including multiple broken bones
- Facial disfigurement
- Vision loss
- Hearing loss
- Amputation
These injuries can cause substantial medical bills, for emergency and ongoing medical services. You may have to seek emergency care through the hospital, go through multiple surgeries or procedures to help treat your injuries, or go through extensive physical or occupational therapy to help you relearn how to function within new limitations caused by those injuries. Those medical costs often make up the largest part of the amount you claim in compensation.
Product liability defects in medical products, such as hip replacements, pacemakers, or specific medical devices, can also lead to considerable medical costs and long-term suffering. Each year, medical manufacturers recall products that hundreds or thousands of people have used. Use of those products may cause you to have to undergo additional medical procedures or cause the device to fail, leaving you with the same problems those devices should have treated in the first place, or even worse ones. The more vital the medical device, the more serious the problems associated with failure can prove—and the higher your medical expenses may become.
Did you have to miss work from the product liability incident?
A St. Louis product liability incident could cause injuries that require you to miss work. Missed work may mean that you do not have income for an indeterminate period after your accident, at a time when you need it more than ever. With your medical bills continuing to stack up, many product liability victims that are put out of work by their injuries struggle greatly to find ways to get by. The longer you remain out of work, the greater the financial challenges you may face associated with the accident and your injuries. You can include compensation for lost wages as part of your St. Louis product liability claim. Furthermore, if you lost the ability to work in your industry or position permanently because of your injuries, including injuries that may have impacted one of your senses or led to lifelong disability, you may have the right to claim compensation for lost earning potential.
How do the injuries from the damaged or defective product impact your life?
Most St. Louis product liability claims include a demand for compensation for the pain and suffering you face because of your accident. It may seem hard to assign a monetary value to the physical pain and emotional anguish associated with your injuries. At The Bruning Law Firm, however, we can help you go over the losses you have faced due to your accident, from the loss of enjoyment of life to the physical pain you faced and the way it impacted you, and help you determine how much you can demand in compensation.
The Product Liability Claims Process in Missouri
Filing a product liability claim in Missouri involves several important steps. Understanding this process can help you protect your rights and build the strongest possible case. At The Bruning Law Firm, we guide our clients through each stage to ensure nothing is overlooked.
Step 1: Preserve the Defective Product as Evidence
The defective product itself is the single most important piece of evidence in your case. Do not throw it away, return it to the store, or attempt to repair it. Keep the product exactly as it was at the time of the incident, along with all packaging, receipts, instruction manuals, and warranty information. If the product is too large to store safely, photograph it thoroughly from every angle before making any changes.
Step 2: Document Injuries and Medical Treatment
Seek medical attention immediately after a product-related injury, even if your injuries seem minor at first. Some injuries, particularly internal injuries, burns, and exposure to toxic substances, may not show their full severity for days or weeks. Tell your doctor specifically that your injuries were caused by a product, and keep detailed records of all medical visits, treatments, prescriptions, and expenses.
Step 3: Consult a Product Liability Attorney
Product liability cases are among the most technically demanding areas of personal injury law. You will be going up against manufacturers and corporations with teams of lawyers and significant resources. An experienced product liability attorney can evaluate whether you have a viable claim, identify all potentially liable parties, and begin building your case before critical evidence is lost or destroyed.
Step 4: Investigation and Expert Analysis
Your attorney will conduct a thorough investigation to identify the specific type of defect (design, manufacturing, or warning) and determine which parties in the chain of distribution are responsible. This typically involves retaining expert witnesses, including engineers who can analyze the product's design and construction, medical experts who can establish the connection between the defect and your injuries, and industry specialists who can testify about applicable safety standards.
Step 5: Filing Your Claim
Once the investigation is complete, your attorney will either negotiate a settlement with the responsible parties and their insurers or file a lawsuit in court. Missouri follows strict liability under RSMo 537.760, which means you do not need to prove the manufacturer was negligent. Instead, you must show that the product was defective AND unreasonably dangerous when it left the defendant's control. Missouri's statute of limitations for product liability claims is five years from the date of injury (RSMo 516.120), but it is always best to begin the process as soon as possible to preserve evidence and protect your rights.
Product Liability FAQ
How Do I Prove a Product Was Defective in Missouri?
Under Missouri law, there are three ways to prove a product was defective. A design defect means the product's design is inherently flawed and dangerous, even when manufactured correctly. A manufacturing defect means the product deviated from its intended design during production, making it dangerous. A warning defect (also called a marketing defect) means the product lacked adequate instructions or warnings about known risks. Missouri applies strict liability under RSMo 537.760, meaning you must demonstrate that the product was both defective and unreasonably dangerous, but you do not need to prove the manufacturer was negligent.
Who Can Be Held Liable in a Product Liability Case?
Under Missouri law, any party in the chain of distribution can potentially be held liable for injuries caused by a defective product. This includes the product's designer, the manufacturer, the manufacturer of component parts, the distributor, the wholesaler, and the retail store that sold the product. In many cases, multiple parties share responsibility, and your attorney will identify all potentially liable parties to maximize your recovery.
How Long Do I Have to File a Product Liability Claim in Missouri?
In Missouri, the statute of limitations for product liability claims is five years from the date of injury, as established under RSMo 516.120. However, waiting to file can jeopardize your case. Evidence can be lost, witnesses' memories fade, and the defective product itself may be discarded or altered. We strongly recommend consulting with an attorney as soon as possible after a product-related injury.
What Compensation Can I Recover in a Product Liability Case?
Victims of defective products in Missouri can recover compensation for medical expenses (both current and future), lost wages and lost earning capacity, pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, emotional distress, and property damage. In cases where the manufacturer's conduct was particularly reckless or showed a conscious disregard for consumer safety, the court may also award punitive damages to punish the defendant and deter similar conduct in the future.
Can I File a Claim If I Used the Product Incorrectly?
Potentially, yes. The key question is whether the misuse was reasonably foreseeable. Manufacturers have a duty to anticipate how consumers might realistically use their products and to design products and warnings accordingly. For example, if a child uses a product in a way that children commonly do, even if the instructions say otherwise, the manufacturer may still be liable because that use was foreseeable. Missouri courts evaluate these cases on their individual facts, so it is important to discuss the specifics of your situation with a product liability attorney.
What Should I Do With a Defective Product After an Injury?
Preserve it. The defective product is the most critical piece of evidence in your case. Do not throw it away, return it, repair it, or modify it in any way. Store it in a safe location, along with any packaging, receipts, manuals, and warranty documents. If possible, photograph the product, the scene of the incident, and your injuries. This evidence will be essential for your attorney and any expert witnesses who need to analyze the defect.
Do Product Liability Cases Go to Trial?
The majority of product liability cases settle before reaching trial. However, trial readiness matters. Insurance companies and corporate defendants pay close attention to whether your attorney is prepared and willing to take your case to court. If the defendant believes your attorney will not go to trial, they are likely to offer a lower settlement. At The Bruning Law Firm, we prepare every case as if it will go to trial, which strengthens our negotiating position and helps ensure our clients receive the full compensation they deserve.
Why Choose The Bruning Law Firm for Product Liability Cases
Product liability cases require attorneys who understand both the legal complexities and the technical details of how products fail. At The Bruning Law Firm, our St. Louis product liability lawyers bring decades of experience to these challenging cases. We have secured results including a $50 million verdict for a family harmed by a defective smoke detector and millions more in cases involving defective power cords, airbags, insulation products, and appliances.
We work with a network of engineering experts, medical professionals, and industry specialists who can analyze defective products, identify the specific defect, and provide compelling testimony to support your claim. Our team has the resources and knowledge to take on major manufacturers and corporations, no matter how large their legal teams may be.
We also understand the financial burden that a serious injury places on families. That is why we handle all product liability cases on a contingency fee basis, meaning you pay no attorney fees unless we win your case. Our deep knowledge of Missouri strict liability law under RSMo 537.760, combined with our track record of substantial results, makes The Bruning Law Firm the right choice for your product liability claim. Contact us today for a free consultation.
Did a Defective Product in St. Louis Cause You Serious Injury?
If you suffered severe injuries because of a defective product in St. Louis, an experienced product liability attorney can help give you a better idea of the compensation you deserve. Contact The Bruning Law Firm today at (314) 735-8100 or through our online portal for a free consultation regarding your right to compensation.
Product Liability Resources
Learn more about product liability claims and defective products with these helpful resources:
- What Are Different Types of Product Defects, and How Do They Affect Your Claim?
- Old Spice and Secret Carcinogen Recall
- My Rental Car Was Defective and Caused A Crash
- What Kinds Of Defective Consumer Products Often Cause Traumatic Brain Injuries?
- How to Prove Negligence in Product Liability
- How to Select the Best Defective Product Lawyers
- Inadequate Warnings In Product Liability Cases
Client Testimonial
"When other law firms failed me. Bruning Law Firm came through for me. They did a great job and were able to get me more compensation than I expected. Couldn't be more pleased. Truly glad these folks were there for me. Took care of everything. Truly pleased. Tthank you Ryan and Alice." - Joseph F.
Rating: 5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
February 2020
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