Product liability laws help consumers recover compensation for the damages caused by a defective product. The law has to hold manufacturers to high standards, ensuring they only produce safe products that won’t harm consumers. In case you are a victim of a defective product, you may be wondering about the kind of damage you can recover from your case. Product liability damages fall under two categories, which are punitive damages and compensatory damages. Read on to learn what these types of damage entail.
Compensatory Damages
Compensatory damages are sometimes called actual damages because they are tangible losses the victim has suffered because of the defective product. This type of compensation aims to restore victims to the condition they were in before the injury or illness. It does this by attaching a monetary value to the bad things that happened to the victim. It’s important to work with a law firm like Dolman Law (DolmanLaw.com) if you want to increase your chances of getting fully compensated. The damages under this type of compensation are as follows.
Medical Expenses
When victims are injured or fall sick because of a defective product, they will seek medical care, resulting in medical expenses. Any bill you get from the hospital, doctor, physical therapist, or pharmacy falls under this category. In case you need ongoing medical care, you have to include future medical expenses and demand compensation for that.
Pain and Suffering
Pain and suffering are non-economic losses. That means you can’t quantify them. Despite that, you still deserve compensation for such a loss. For instance, if an automobile is defective, you may get into an accident. This could result in post-traumatic stress disorder. PTSD is a mental health condition that can be classified under pain and suffering. An attorney will know how to calculate the compensation you should get because of such damage.
Lost Wages or Profits
When an injury causes you to miss work, you must demand compensation for lost wages. If you own a business and can’t work because of injuries, you should get compensated for lost profit. At the same time, if your condition prevents you from working in the future, ensure you demand compensation for future lost wages.
Cost of Disability
Some injuries caused by a design defect can lead to a disability that changes your lifestyle. In such an instance, you’re entitled to compensation for the expenses you incur because of those changes. For instance, if you’re forced to hire someone to help with chores, you need to be compensated for the expenses you’ll incur.
Loss of Consortium
An injury or illness can negatively affect your relationship with your partner or spouse. In such instances, you deserve compensation because of the loss of a consortium. This type of compensation can also be referred to as loss of society. It includes the impact the injury has on things such as sexual relations, loss of affection, and emotional support.
Punitive Damages
Unlike compensatory damages, which aim to award the injured victim for the losses they have incurred, punitive damages take a different route. Here, the goal is to punish the manufacturer or a liable party for the outrageous action.
Punitive damages are also meant to serve as a warning against other manufacturers from doing a similar thing in the future. Most of the time, courts and juries will only award punitive damages after discovering that the manufacturer was aware of the defective product yet didn’t recall it.
Product liability cases can be challenging, especially when going against large companies. Hire an attorney to help you get your full compensation for all the damage you’ve suffered.
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