You used a household appliance, power tool, children’s product, vehicle component, medical device, or another consumer product believing it was reasonably safe. After the product malfunctioned and caused an injury, you may have learned that it was recalled because of a fire risk, electrical problem, defective component, inadequate warning, or another safety concern.
The manufacturer or retailer may now be offering a refund, replacement, repair, or disposal program. You may even have received instructions telling you to return the product while you are still dealing with medical care, missed work, property damage, or uncertainty about how the injury will affect your family.
That can create a difficult question: Should you participate in the recall immediately, or should you keep the product because it may be important evidence?
Your immediate safety must come first. Review the recall notice promptly and follow its instructions. If the notice directs you to stop using the product, disconnect it, park the vehicle, or take another immediate precaution, do not continue using it while deciding what to do with the item.
Returning, repairing, altering, or discarding the product could also make it harder to determine why it failed and whether the failure contributed to your injuries. This article explains what a recall can and cannot show, why the product’s condition may matter, what information to preserve, and what to consider before the item leaves your control.
Does a Recall Prove the Product Was Defective?
A recall can provide important information about a product and the risk associated with it. The notice may identify a defective component, describe reported incidents, warn about possible injuries, and explain which model, serial, lot, or production numbers are affected.
Even so, the existence of a recall does not automatically establish that the recalled condition caused your particular injury.
A product liability investigation may need to answer several questions:
- Is your specific product included in the recall?
- Was the identified defect present in your product?
- How was the product being used when the incident occurred?
- Was the product previously repaired, altered, or damaged?
- Did the defect cause or contribute to the injury?
- Did the warnings or instructions adequately address the danger?
Pennsylvania product liability cases are highly fact-specific. Depending on the circumstances, a claim may involve allegations that the product had an unsafe design, was improperly manufactured, or lacked adequate instructions or warnings.
Answering those questions often requires an examination of the product itself. That makes its condition and location especially important when deciding whether to return it.
Should You Return the Recalled Product?
A recall program may direct you to send the product to the manufacturer, bring it to a retailer, arrange for a repair, disable it, or dispose of it in a particular way.
Recall instructions are important after an injury, particularly when the product presents an ongoing safety risk. Still, returning, repairing, or disposing of the product, including surrendering it as part of a replacement program, can raise additional concerns because its condition may help explain how the injury occurred.
Returning the product could place it under the control of a manufacturer, distributor, retailer, or another company that may later be involved in a claim. A repair could change its condition. Disassembling or testing it could make it more difficult to determine its condition immediately after the incident. Throwing it away could eliminate the opportunity for anyone to inspect it.
This does not mean you should ignore a serious safety warning or keep a dangerous item in an unsafe location. Instead, you may need to address two concerns at the same time:
- Protecting yourself and others from an immediate hazard
- Preserving information that may be relevant to the injury
Before surrendering, repairing, altering, or disposing of an item that may have caused an injury, consider obtaining legal guidance. At Dallas W. Hartman P.C., our Pittsburgh defective product attorneys help people throughout Western Pennsylvania address questions about recall instructions and communications with manufacturers or retailers.
What if the Product Is Dangerous to Store?
The return-or-keep decision becomes more complicated when the item itself remains dangerous. Damaged lithium-ion batteries, leaking containers, fuel-powered equipment, electrical appliances, medical devices, and contaminated food may require special handling even after they are no longer being used.
Do not continue using a product merely because you believe it may be evidence. Do not place yourself, your family, coworkers, or emergency personnel at risk to preserve it.
Depending on the danger, you may need assistance from the fire department, a hazardous-materials professional, the government agency identified in the recall notice, or another appropriate authority. The recall instructions may also contain important warnings about isolating, transporting, or disposing of the product.
If the item cannot safely remain where it is, do not delay emergency action to photograph or document it. When documentation can be completed safely, preserve photographs, video, identifying labels, packaging, written instructions, and information showing how the product was handled or disposed of.
The proper response will depend on the type and condition of the item. A damaged battery that is smoking or overheating presents a very different concern from a recalled chair, ladder, or hand tool that can be secured without exposing anyone to additional danger.
What Should You Preserve After a Recalled Product Causes an Injury?
Once immediate safety concerns have been addressed, consider what information could help identify the product, document its condition, explain the incident, and show how the injury affected you.
Relevant materials may include:
- The product and any broken or detached pieces
- Batteries, chargers, cords, accessories, or attachments
- Original packaging
- Instruction manuals and safety warnings
- Model, serial, lot, or batch numbers
- Receipts and order confirmations
- Product-registration information
- Recall notices
- Photographs or videos taken before and after the incident
- Emails, text messages, or online chats with the seller or manufacturer
- Repair and maintenance records
- Medical records and bills
- Records of missed work or other financial losses
Photograph the entire product as well as damaged areas, labels, warning stickers, and identifying numbers. Preserve electronic communications in their original form when possible rather than relying only on screenshots.
You should also write down what happened while the details are still clear. Note where the product was obtained, when it was first used, what occurred immediately before the injury, who witnessed the incident, and what happened to the product afterward.
What if You No Longer Have the Receipt or Packaging?
Even if some of those materials are unavailable, that does not necessarily end the inquiry. Many people do not keep the original box, receipt, or instructions for an ordinary consumer product.
Other records may help establish where and when the product was obtained, including:
- Credit-card or bank statements
- Online shopping histories
- Retailer loyalty accounts
- Confirmation emails
- Gift records
- Warranty registrations
- Photographs showing the product before the incident
The product’s model, serial, lot, or batch number may also help establish when and where it was manufactured and whether it falls within the recall. For a recalled vehicle, you can also use the vehicle identification number or license plate information to check for open vehicle recalls.
A complete record is helpful, but the available evidence should be evaluated as a whole rather than dismissing the matter because one document is missing.
What if the Recall Was Announced After You Were Injured?
The timing of the recall can raise a separate question. You may have been injured weeks or months before the manufacturer or a government agency publicly announced the safety concern.
A recall is sometimes issued only after consumers report fires, falls, malfunctions, or other incidents. A company or government agency may investigate those reports before identifying the affected products and announcing a corrective action.
If the recall was issued after your injury, preserve the notice and any information identifying your product. The date of the recall, the hazard described, the affected model numbers, and the remedy offered can then be reviewed to determine whether the notice applies to the product involved.
A later recall still does not automatically establish what caused the earlier incident. It may, however, provide information that was unavailable when you were injured.
Who Could Be Responsible for an Injury Caused by a Defective Product?
Once the product and available records have been identified, the investigation can turn to the businesses involved in bringing the product into use.
Depending on how it was designed, manufactured, distributed, sold, installed, maintained, or repaired, more than one business may require review.
Potentially responsible parties may include:
- The product manufacturer
- A component-part manufacturer
- An importer
- A distributor
- A retailer
- An installer
- A repair or maintenance provider
- Another company involved in placing the product into use
Identifying the appropriate parties can be especially important when the product was purchased online, sold under a private label, manufactured outside the United States, or incorporated into a larger machine or system.
The evidence may also show that the product was not defective or that another factor contributed to the incident. A careful investigation should account for the product’s complete history rather than assume that a recall answers every question.
How Long Do You Have to Address a Pennsylvania Product Injury?
Regardless of which businesses may be involved, waiting can affect both the legal deadline and the availability of evidence.
Pennsylvania generally requires actions seeking damages for personal injury or death to be filed within two years. However, the deadline in a particular matter can depend on the type of claim, the parties involved, and other legal circumstances.
Practical problems can arise long before a filing deadline approaches. Products may be discarded, repaired, returned, sold, or altered. Security footage, electronic records, and online product listings may become unavailable. Witnesses may become more difficult to locate, and recall notices or related webpages may be updated over time.
For those reasons, it can be important to seek legal guidance promptly rather than assume that participating in the recall process will preserve your legal rights.
Get Answers After a Recalled Product Injury
Learning that a product was recalled can answer one question while creating several others. You may still need to understand how the recall relates to your injury, what the available records show, and whether you have legal options under Pennsylvania law.
At Dallas W. Hartman P.C., we help injured people make sense of those questions and determine what steps may be appropriate. If you were injured by a recalled product, contact us through our online form for a free consultation.
Disclaimer: Results may vary depending on your particular facts and legal circumstances. The articles on this blog are for informational purposes only and are no substitute for legal advice or an attorney-client relationship. If you are seeking legal advice, please contact our law firm directly.