Nashville Personal Injury Lawyer > Blog > Product Liability > What’s The Difference Between Product Liability and Medical Malpractice?

What’s The Difference Between Product Liability and Medical Malpractice?

We cannot control every circumstance around us. Accidents happen and people get injured all the time. One way that you could experience an injury is due to a defective product.

However, there are different types of product claims. Was the product involved a commercial item? Does it fall under the jurisdiction of the Food and Drug Administration? Did it occur in a healthcare facility? How much of the incident can be attributed to user error?

Answering these questions will play a major role in any claim of faulty products. No matter the circumstances, you should be aware of your legal options in the event of an injury.

If you’ve ever been injured from a defective product, you could be entitled to a product liability claim. Not only could this reimburse you for any suffering you may have experienced, but successful product liability suits also set a precedent for the guilty company to better test their products in the future.

Depending on the extent of your injuries sustained from a defective product, your medical bills might be costly. Proving defectiveness in court is a difficult task, however, so it’s a good idea to hire an experienced product liability attorney.

Mitch Grissim & Associates has been helping people in Nashville with product liability cases for years now and can help you get the benefits you deserve. We offer a free case review to answer your questions and talk through the foundation of your claim.

How do you know if you have a valid case for a defective product claim?

What is Required?

Building your case is an important part of any suit, and an adept product liability attorney can help. There are four primary elements required for a good product liability claim:

The product injured you or induced losses
The product is defective
Your injury was directly caused by the defunct.
You followed the necessary instructions for the product.

If you have quick reflexes, this may work against you. If you’re trying to microwave some leftovers, for example, and faulty wiring causes the microwave to explode, you only have a claim if there are damages. If you dodge the debris, you didn’t actually suffer losses. If the explosion knocks your smartphone to the floor and breaks it, however, you do have a case.

Finding the defect in a product can be hard, but even harder is proving that the defect specifically caused your injuries. Even though businesses are obligated to self-report on defective products, they do not catch everything.

If you don’t know how to start gathering the right evidence, consider hiring a product liability attorney. They have the expertise to gather all the necessary evidence to benefit your case.

Did You Follow the Directions?

Some products present inherent danger if they’re used incorrectly. Some extent of reasonable expectation is expected here. If you use an item for something a normal person wouldn’t use it for, you probably won’t have a case.

However, if you stay within the realm of reasonable use, it could still work out for you. If your smartphone explodes in your pocket, you’d have justification for a product liability suit. If it catches fire after you beat it with a hammer until its battery ruptures and burns you, your case is considerably weaker.

Staying within the realm of reasonable use can get confusing at times, especially when depending on the product, but a good product liability attorney can help you make the case that you were using the product as instructed. Mitch Grissim & Associates has been doing just that for people in Nashville for years. We know how to prove that the company that created the product is responsible for its failure, and will guide you through the process legally.

Could it be Medical Malpractice?

If you were injured by a defective product in a hospital or other healthcare facility, this presents a slightly different scenario from normal. Fortunately, you don’t have to choose between product liability or medical malpractice. You can file a suit for both. Three things need to be proven for a successful suit:

You sustained injuries
The medical device was defective or defectively marketed
The defect or defective marketing is the direct cause of your injuries

Make sure you don’t wait too long to file your suit. Every state has a statute of limitations, or a time limit, for filing claims. Filing a claim after the allotted time has passed will render your case invalid, so it is important to waste no time after an incident. If you need help learning the statute of limitations for Tennessee, Nashville product liability attorney Mitch Grissim can help.

In some medical malpractice cases, you won’t be the only one injured by a defective product, and multiple people are affected. If that’s the case, you could start or join a class-action suit. These are very beneficial for you since you won’t have as much upfront cost, but if your injuries are unique enough, you should probably file your suit.

For guidance on your specific situation, contact Mitch Grissim & Associates and discover which course would be best for you with a free consultation.

How Else Can Medical Malpractice Manifest?

Defective products in hospitals or healthcare are not the only form of medical malpractice that can occur. Any negligence or failure by a medical provider to give proper healthcare to a patient can lead to injury or even death.

This could come from administering dangerous drugs that do not meet FDA-approved conditions, operating under the influence, a misdiagnosis, failure to treat a patient, or a faulty product. Surgery is inherently dangerous, and when healthcare providers make mistakes or act negligently, we have lawyers prepared to make sure they are held accountable.

The Main Difference Between a Product Liability Case and Medical Malpractice Case

Though medical malpractice and product liability can overlap in the healthcare sector, there are plenty of instances of both that make them separate issues. The main differences between a product lawsuit and a malpractice case are where the incident occurs and what the product is meant for.

If the product in question was a defective medical device, then it could be medical malpractice from pharmaceutical companies, drug manufacturers, or equipment producers. Otherwise, it is exclusively a defective product liability claim OR a malpractice claim.

If you can prove that you suffered losses as a result of a faulty product, such as exploding cell phones, then you should get in contact with qualified product liability attorneys. For defective medical equipment, your product liability case could include a malpractice lawsuit as well.

To ensure that the responsible parties are held liable, as a general rule, contact our team at Mitch Grissim & Associates to get your free case review. Once you tell us what happened, we can advise on the best path forward.

Hiring an Experienced Product Liability Attorney

Any kind of injury is going to be a challenge to deal with, especially if it’s caused by a product that you paid for or insufficient healthcare.

Evidence Must Be Gathered

To prove that negligence or a product led to financial losses or emotional suffering, the evidence must be compiled that implicates liability. This is a key factor in any claim, as damages will not be awarded until fault is proven. To have any hope of recovering compensation, there must be a preponderance of the evidence.

Rights Must Be Protected

Though you may not understand the difference between a product liability case and medical malpractice, our legal team does. We care about your rights under Tennessee law and believe in putting the attorney-client relationship first.

As you recover from your initial injury, any additional injuries, and the emotional distress from the incident, our attorneys will ensure that your case is rock-solid, giving you a better chance of success.

You Have Suffered Damages

In an individual claim or even a class-action lawsuit, the victims are usually pursuing damages for their injuries and suffering that were caused by negligence.

Damages can include medical bills, lost wages, lost resources, property damage, pain and suffering, and more. When a product or medical service leads to a heavy financial burden on your shoulders, you have the right to earn a fair settlement to recover those losses. Our lawyers will work with you to hold the guilty party accountable and protect you and your family’s interests after an accident.

You Need Our Experience On Your Side

Mitch Grissim & Associates is available to ease your process and win you the benefits you deserve. Big companies will have highly-trained lawyers on their side, so you might not want to go up against them alone. With an experienced product liability attorney of your own, you even the playing field and stand a better chance of winning your case.

We have earned a Google-screened badge because past clients have trusted us to help them pursue fair compensation.

Get your free case evaluation today where you can tell us what happened in the incident that caused your injury at no cost. Then, we will discuss your options.