Waterloo Product Liability Attorneys

Every year in America, countless people are hurt by defective products they thought were safe. While defective products can cause relatively minor injuries, these injuries can also be life-changing and, in some cases, fatal.

At Ball, Kirk & Holm, P.C., we help people hurt by defective products seek fair compensation by bringing product liability lawsuits against negligent manufacturers and other liable parties. We handle a wide range of dangerous and defective product matters, from cases involving defective toys and children’s car seats to defective vehicle design or auto parts. Our experienced Waterloo product liability lawyers also take cases related to drug recalls and defective medical devices, and we have the resources needed to help people injured by defective products in commercial settings. These cases often include dangerous farm equipment, mechanical equipment, factory machinery, and power tools.

If you were injured by a defective product in Iowa City or Waterloo, reach out to our team today to learn how we can help. Call (319) 220-0416 for a free and confidential consultation. 

How Products Can Be Defective

People usually trust that the products they use have been tested and are safe, but there are many ways in which products can be defective.

Generally speaking, product defects fall into one of the following categories:

• Design Defects: Design defects occur when a product is designed in such a way that it is inherently unreasonably unsafe for normal use. Products with design defects pose an excessive foreseeable risk to consumers.
• Manufacturing Defects: A manufacturing defect happens when products are incorrectly constructed, contaminated, or otherwise made faulty during the manufacturing stage. Manufacturing defects only affect certain batches/individual units.
• Labeling Defects: If a product lacks necessary warning labels, safety instructions, or side effect listings, among other critical labels, it has a labeling defect. These are also sometimes referred to as “marketing defects.”

Understanding which type of defect a product has is important, as it typically points to who is liable. However, it can be difficult to determine without the help of an experienced legal team.

When we take your case, we talk with you about your injury and we investigate all the ways you could have been hurt by a defective product. Often, we send the product to an expert for examination. We also track down the people responsible—the manufacturers, distributors, and sellers of the item that hurt you—in order to hold them accountable.

Types of Cases We Handle

Every year, a new, high-profile dangerous product comes to light with the potential for serious, life-altering harm. Lately, we have seen a multitude of lawsuits involving defective and dangerous products such as Roundup, cancer-causing talcum powder, defective drugs and medical devices, and defective 3M military earplugs.

At Ball, Kirk & Holm, P.C., our Waterloo product liability lawyers handle all types of defective product claims, including (but not limited to) those involving:

• Defective auto parts, such as tires, airbags, seatbelts, and braking systems
• Unsafe motor vehicle design
• Defective children’s items, including toys, car seats, and cribs
• Dangerous pharmaceutical drugs and over-the-counter medications
• Defective medical devices
• Defective commercial products, including industrial tools and equipment

If you or a loved one are experiencing harmful effects from these or any other dangerous products, an experienced product liability lawyer at our firm can help you pursue compensation.

Even If It Has Been Years, You May Have a Case

We trust in products to safely fulfill their intended use. Many of us do not think about the potential for harm some of these products carry, especially when their distribution is for the sole use of safeguarding our health. What's more, some of our injuries do not become apparent until months or years after using the defective product. Additionally, some of these products are recalled and some are not, so you may not know you were using a harmful product until it's too late.

To file a product liability lawsuit in Iowa, you must file within two years of suffering your injury. It should also be no more than 15 years since the product was removed from its initial delivery. However, if the product causes a disease, such as Johnson & Johnson's talcum powder, which has been linked to ovarian cancer, the 15-year window does not apply.