Experiencing an injury from a product that you use is stressful, and you may have serious financial concerns if you can’t work or need to pay for expensive healthcare treatments. When you sustain an injury, it’s important to reach out to a defective product lawyer right away to ensure your rights are upheld.

Along with contacting an attorney for your injury in Philadelphia, you’ll want to take the following steps to prepare for a product liability lawsuit.

Seek Immediate Medical Care

A defective product injury can take the form of burns, lacerations, sprains and even a lost limb. Naturally, you’ll need to seek medical treatment as soon as possible to prevent the injury from getting worse. Seeing a health care provider also helps you begin documenting your injury to help when you file a product liability claim.

Preserve the Defective Product and Packaging

In some cases, you might not have the physical product readily available. For instance, medical devices can sometimes be included in a product liability lawsuit. But, you’ll want to make sure that it doesn’t fall within a medical malpractice claim. A defective product lawyer can help you determine the difference.

However, you might have the product available to preserve. For instance, you’ll want to avoid throwing out a tool that caused you harm, since there could be a defect that led to the injury. When in doubt, don’t throw anything out. Your lawyer can use the product, packaging and instruction manuals to determine how to proceed with your claim.

Gather Information About the Event

With a product liability claim, you may also have people nearby who can serve as witnesses. You may also have photos that you took of the immediate aftermath. Or, you may need to jot down a few details about any sounds you heard or other unusual experiences that could explain what happened.

If cameras were nearby, then you might be able to use the video feed to demonstrate that you were using the product properly.

Report the Incident

Your next step is to report the incident to the appropriate people and companies. Ideally, you should reach out to a product liability lawyer first to ensure that you follow the proper reporting protocols. Typically, this will involve reporting what happened to the product manufacturer, reseller or other involved parties.

Making sure to report the injury within a proper amount of time is critical for staying within the statute of limitations.

Avoid Accepting an Early or Low Settlement

Sometimes, companies or insurance agencies try to offer low settlements for a defective product injury to avoid bigger payments down the road. Unfortunately, you might be facing an injury that causes long-term impacts on your well-being and financial stability.

Avoid negotiating with insurance companies when you aren’t sure of your rights, and never accept a settlement until you understand the full scope of your injury. Working with an experienced lawyer for your product injury claim helps you know your rights.

Consult With a Product Liability Lawyer

Facing a product liability lawsuit is stressful, but you don’t have to do it alone. Reach out to us today to get assistance with filing a claim and ensuring that you have the compensation you need to move forward with healing.