Defective Products Claims

Defective products and medications injure hundreds of thousands of people every year. Through careful and detailed investigation of these claims, Peter Thompson & Associates has successfully represented many Mainers who were injured by products and medications that had not been properly tested or had problems that were ignored by the manufacturer. In determining whether a product is defective, a manufacturer is required to take into account expected human error and act reasonably to prevent avoidable injury when that type of human error occurs. Often a part that costs no more than a few cents can save a person’s life or prevent serious injury. At Peter Thompson & Associates, we are proud of our effort and the efforts of other attorneys who handle these types of cases to hold manufacturers accountable for their negligence in design or in resolving known problems with defective products and medications.

Our firm uses the very best experts to assess whether a product or medication is defective. Through the use of expert analysis and through examination of a company’s internal records, we have an excellent track record of success in defective product and medication cases. In a recent case, we were able to show that a manufacturer knew about a flaw in the design of a saw guard and had been told by its own engineers to correct the flaw. Despite having been advised of the safety hazard, the manufacturer nevertheless chose to keep manufacturing and distributing the saw with the defect.

Our firm also uses the best experts in the field to determine the nature and extent of our clients’ injuries. Treating physicians are generally willing to provide some information about our client’s future restrictions and the future impact of his/her injuries. However, because treating doctors often do not have the time or inclination to provide a thorough analysis of the future impact of injuries on work activities and other activities of daily living, we use the best experts in the field to provide more comprehensive analysis of these issues in order to prove our cases. We find that, by providing this type of detailed and comprehensive analysis to insurance companies, we are able to settle cases favorably without having to go to court over 98 percent of the time. Insurance companies know Attorney Thompson’s reputation in court and, in the vast majority of cases, choose to settle rather than risking an unfavorable result at trial and having to pay the high the costs associated with trial.