While accidents sometimes result from operator mistakes, equipment defects can cause serious injuries at no fault of its user. In these cases, victims and their loved ones may qualify for a products liability case, and a Los Angeles lawn equipment defects lawyer can help them seek justice and compensation.
If you suffered injuries or lost a loved one as the result of a lawn equipment accident caused by manufacturer error, Pintas & Mullins Law Firm can help you determine if you have a case. Call us today at (800) 794-0444 to speak with our legal team about your free case evaluation.
Common Lawn Equipment Defects That Cause Injuries and Fatalities
Lawn equipment accidents that lead to injuries and fatalities occur commonly in California and throughout the United States, and many involve small children. According to an article on NBC News, 133 children became victims of lawn mower accidents between 2004 and the article’s release in 2019. Eight of those children suffered fatal injuries, while others survived with amputations and severe internal injuries. In many of these cases, functional safety features could have prevented the accidents.
Equipment That Allows Users to Mow in Reverse
Despite the fact that accidents involving backover injuries, which primarily affect children under age 5, have remained a consistent concern for decades, manufacturers have yet to standardize a solution to help prevent them. In 2003, the industry began to integrate a feature that requires blades to stop spinning when a user operates a riding mower in reverse. However, they also included switches that allowed the operator to turn off the safety feature, and the occurrence of accidents did not decrease.
Mower manufacturers know the dangers of their products, and they have not offered consumers safer designs through the inclusion of permanent backover prevention features. If your child suffered injuries as the result of a lawnmower accident, a Los Angeles lawn equipment defects lawyer can help you pursue accountability and financial awards.
Lack of Roll-Over Protective Structures
According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), roll-over protective structures (ROPS) can help prevent injury or death in lawn equipment accidents involving rolling or overturning of the machine. Companies that employ personnel who use riding lawn mowers must ensure that the mowers have:
- A ROPS system, if available for the equipment
- A seatbelt
- A control system that shuts the mower off if the operator leaves the seat
- A safety feature that will not allow the engine to start in gear or with the mower blades on
While most newer lawn equipment models come complete with these safety elements in place, the industry considers many of them voluntary, so manufacturers do not have to include them on their riding mowers. If a company failed to include the appropriate safety equipment on your lawnmower or a defective part led to an accident that caused you or a loved one to suffer injuries, Pintas & Mullins Law Firm can help you determine if you have a case. Contact our legal team online today, and we will respond as soon as possible to discuss the details with you.
Safety Switch Defects
Many modern riding lawn mowers include three switches: one for braking, one for cutting blades, and one that makes the mower shut down without an operator in the seat. Unfortunately, the safety switches that control the ability of the mower to run without a passenger can easily corrode and break, and while they initially prevent the mower from starting, users can jump the circuit and get it to run without a functional safety switch.
In these instances, without manual shutdown, the mower will continue to run, even if it flips, hits a person or object, or loses its rider. If the user does not have time to disengage the blades, the mower becomes a serious danger to everything in its path, presenting a serious risk of severe injury or fatalities.
You Can Seek Financial Awards in Lawn Equipment Products Liability Cases
Companies have an obligation to keep consumers safe from avoidable injury while using their products, and when they cut corners, victims may qualify for compensation in product liability cases. Types of financial awards vary by the victims’ individual circumstances, but they may include recovery for:
- Emergency medical bills, follow-up treatment, and rehabilitation costs
- Property damage to lawn equipment and other personal effects damaged in the accident
- Lost wages from time off work and loss of future wages if injuries cause long-term disability or the death of a loved one who provided for you and your family
- Funeral and burial expenses in claims involving fatalities
- Pain and suffering, including mental anguish, for the trauma you experienced as a result of your injuries or loss
- Loss of consortium, also known as loss of companionship, if you lost a loved one in the accident
Contact Pintas & Mullins Law Firm today for your free case review with a member of our team.
For a free legal consultation with a Lawn Equipment Defects Lawyer serving Los Angeles, call (800) 794-0444
How a Los Angeles Lawn Equipment Defects Lawyer Can Help You
Establishing responsibility in a products liability case can prove difficult to achieve on your own, but an attorney can help you collect the information you need to proceed with your case. Your lawyer can help you demonstrate the elements you need to demonstrate liability in California, which include proof that:
- The company designed, manufactured, or sold a defective product
- The product contained the defect before it left the distributor to enter the consumer market
- You or your loved one used the product as intended
- The product caused you or your loved one serious injury or death as a result of its faulty equipment
Defects you can file a claim for in a products liability case include faulty manufacturing, dangerous design, and failure to warn consumers about known hazards. However, the statute of limitations in California requires that you file your claim within two years of the date of the injury, or, in some cases in which symptoms appear later, two years from the date that you discovered your injury.
Los Angeles Lawn Equipment Defects Lawyer Near Me (800) 794-0444
Contact Pintas & Mullins Law Firm Today
You do not have to face the legal process for your product liability case alone. The attorneys at Pintas & Mullins Law Firm can help you seek the justice and compensation you deserve, and you do not owe us any fees unless we achieve recovery for you. Contact our legal team today at (800) 794-0444 to get started on your case.
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