Jacksonville Product Liability Wrongful Death Attorneys
Almost every day we hear about dangerous products that are recalled after they are released into the stream of commerce only to injure and kill consumers. Almost no product is immune - from children’s medications to lead in toys, defective airbags to contaminated food, medical devices to industrial machinery - virtually any product can be defectively manufactured, designed, or carry an inadequate warning label that does not clearly reveal the potential for injury but is still sold to an unsuspecting public.
Product manufacturers have a legal responsibility to keep the public safe from harm from their product. When a manufacturer fails to recognize that one of its products is defective or fails to alert retailers and the public after injuries and death, a wrongful death action can be filed against the manufacturer, retailer, designer or anyone in the chain of distribution. Those at-fault parties can be held liable for the preventable death when they fail to use the care needed to make, design, and distribute a product that is safe.
The decedent’s family members i.e. wife, husband, children (under the age of 25), and surviving parents can bring a civil action for wrongful death due to negligence or a breach of contract or warranty under Florida Statute 768.16 which allows for a financial recovery following a wrongful death. While money does not bring back your loved one it does compensate for the financial losses represented by the death of a family member whether support, salary, inheritance, parental guidance, pension, benefits, or services. Any damage award goes to the decedent’s estate to be distributed to family members. The monetary award will be based on the earnings of your loved one, his age and his potential for earnings and the number of children. Even someone unemployed, if they had worked in the past, could have his estate awarded lost earnings. The loss of someone who did not work outside of the home can be estimated by bringing in experts who could testify as to the dollar amount of the services she was providing had she lived. Additionally, the survivors can sue for the pain and suffering the decedent endured after his or her injury.
We would all hope that dangerous and defective products are removed from the marketplace before they do harm, but sadly this does not happen. While most companies are reputable and care about public safety, the truth is that some less reputable companies knowingly sell a defective product hoping they can make enough profit in the short run to outweigh the cost of the "risk" to the injured. One prime example is the blockbuster drug, Vioxx, sold by Merck, that led to thousands of strokes and heart attacks and upward of 55,000 deaths before it was finally pulled from the market.
If your loved one has been hurt or died as a result of a known defective product, a wrongful death lawsuit shouldn't add to the stress felt by the family members. Litigation can be a long and arduous process but it also sends a clear message to the manufacturer to design a safe product that will not harm others.
The compassionate and experienced Jacksonville wrongful death attorneys at Farah & Farah understand the stress and grief that occurs at this time. Allow our excellent staff to offer you a complimentary consultation on your Florida wrongful death case.