Product Liability Settlement: Major Case Won by Michael Levin

Product liability cases can be undoubtedly complex. In many instances, they can take years to settle. These cases can be even more challenging to navigate when paired with worker’s compensation claims. To achieve the best result for your case, you need to choose an experienced personal injury attorney.

Learn more about an extensive product liability injury case one of our attorneys handled and won.

Background

In August 2016, our client was working for a home improvement company and was giving an estimate to a homeowner.  While the client assessed the first-floor roof on a telescoping aluminum extension ladder, the side rails of the ladder snapped, causing him to fall and sustain massive injuries, including a traumatic brain injury.

A lawsuit was filed on his behalf by another law firm, but that attorney sought our involvement because of our extensive experience. Flager & Associates attorney, Michael Levin, Esq., took over the case in February 2019. By that time, the client had resolved a worker’s compensation case arising out of the incident.  He was legally required to pay back the money that the worker’s compensation insurer paid out from the case against the ladder manufacturer, which meant that he owed back over $600,000 before he even came to us for help.

Strategy

Defendants usually do not want to settle in cases where a ladder is involved. The manufacturers typically blame the plaintiff and say the accident was caused by a user error, like setting it up incorrectly. Our client knew this wasn’t the case in their situation, and Michael was determined to prove that. Michael knew that we were in for an intense legal battle and was prepared for it every step of the way.

As part of Michael’s strategy, he hired several experts to testify on behalf of the client. He also had destructive testing done on the ladder, which revealed the ladder featured microscopic flaws and cracking in it before the client ever used it. One of the experts Michael brought in was a metallurgist who helped establish the manufacturing defect in the ladder. He also brought in a mechanical engineer to explain the physics of the incident, a neuropsychological expert to talk about the traumatic brain injury, and vocational and economic experts to support claims for past and future lost wages.

The defense brought in an engineering expert of their own and filed motions to keep all of our client’s experts from testifying at trial.  Not only did Michael successfully defend against these motions, keeping the case fully intact, but he was able to knock out most of the testimony of one of the defendant’s expert witnesses – effectively preventing them from asserting that the ladder “slid out” because it was improperly set up, a major defense argument up to that point.  Once the defendant’s theory of the case evaporated, the defense approached Michael eager to settle the case.

“In a case where the corporate defendant was determined to fight until the end regardless of the truth, it was a huge win to make them completely reconsider their position. The client was truly injured and deserved to be compensated for his terrible ordeal. It was gratifying to be able to deliver real justice for him.” – Michael Levin, Esq.

About Michael

Michael S. Levin, Esq. began his legal career with Flager Law in 1997, after graduating with honors from Widener University School of Law in 1996. Michael focused his efforts on representing injured victims of negligence and litigating hundreds upon hundreds of cases and achieving outstanding results for the firm’s clients for 10 years, before joining a small litigation boutique firm in Philadelphia, where he handled not only personal injury matters but also consumer class actions, toxic tort and mass tort cases involving dangerous and defective drugs, defective products and victims of toxic substance releases. He re-joined Flager & Associates after an 11-year absence in 2018. He is the senior associate handling litigation matters, representing the seriously injured in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

What to Do if Injured by a Faulty Product

When a product malfunctions and injures you, it can be traumatizing and painful. Though the situation is stressful, there are steps you should take immediately after the incident to ensure you have what you need in case you want to file a personal injury lawsuit.

Here’s what you should do after a faulty product has injured you:

• Retain the product. The faulty product is your evidence in a personal injury lawsuit. Though your instinct may be to throw the product away, you must retain it in the condition it was in when the accident occurred so your attorneys can have experts examine it and use it during your case.
• Start documentation. Take pictures of everything you can after your accident. This includes the product itself, the scene of the incident, and any visible injuries. These photos will help demonstrate the problem with the product and what happened to you because of it.
• Find any receipts or warranties. If you have a product covered by a written warranty, you’ll want to dig that up to know what’s in there before you go to court. You’ll also want to track down any receipts for the product since this will show exactly what you bought, when you bought it, and the merchant you used. In product liability cases, you can potentially sue multiple people along the stream of commerce.
• Seek legal counsel. The process of a personal injury lawsuit is challenging to navigate, so you should never try to represent yourself. You need to hire an experienced personal injury lawyer with a proven track record who knows what it takes to win a complex case.

Experienced Personal Injury Lawyers Serving Bucks County and Philadelphia

There are many misconceptions about personal injury lawsuits. At Flager Law, our attorneys will guide you through the process from beginning to end, leaving you with no questions unanswered and a mind at ease.

If you or a loved one was injured in an accident, contact the personal injury lawyers at Flager & Associates today by calling (215) 953-5200. We provide free case evaluations.

Written by Michael S. Levin, Esq., Senior Associate at Flager Law

Michael S. Levin, Esq. began his legal career with Flager Law in 1997, after graduating with honors from Widener University School of Law in 1996. Michael focused his efforts on representing injured victims of negligence and litigating hundreds upon hundreds of cases and achieving outstanding results for the firm’s clients for 10 years, before joining a small litigation boutique firm in Philadelphia, where he handled not only personal injury matters but also consumer class actions, toxic tort and mass tort cases involving dangerous and defective drugs, defective products and victims of toxic substance releases. He re-joined Flager Law after an 11-year absence in 2018. He is the senior associate handling litigation matters, representing the seriously injured in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.