NJ Defective Wheelchair Accident Lawyers
Wheelchair Injury Attorneys Seeking Justice for Clients in Hamilton, Trenton, Princeton, Lawrenceville, and throughout New Jersey
Consumers rely on the safety of products they buy for everyday use. They count on manufacturers to follow laws and industry standards to protect users from design flaws and manufacturing defects. When users depend on medical equipment to assist them in daily life, like mobility, manufacturers must produce reliable devices. Since wheelchairs are primary transport sources for many immobile people, tipping is a grave danger to those injured from falling. Defective wheels, brakes, and other parts can cause severe damage to victims who use wheelchairs.
If you’ve been injured in a wheelchair accident due to a defective product in Burlington, Titusville, Princeton, Hamilton, East Windsor, Trenton, Ewing, Lambertville, Burlington County, Mercer County, or another community in New Jersey, consult Cohen & Rielchelson accomplished team of wheelchair injury attorneys today. With extensive experience, our lawyers work with experts to uncover defect origins crucial for winning your case. Reach out to us by dialing (609) 528-2596 or using our online contact form to get in touch.
Devastating Effects of Wheelchair Failures
Wheelchair users typically suffer temporary or permanent injuries requiring this substitute for walking. When they fall over due to defective wheelchair parts, they can suffer further injuries or worsen existing conditions. For example, a child with a birth injury may use a wheelchair due to cerebral palsy. This condition leaves its victims with cognitive and muscular defects due to oxygen deprivation. Wheelchair accidents may aggravate muscle pain and brain damage, adding broken bones, cuts, bruises, and spinal injuries to the mix. However, senior adults may suffer disproportionately due to their inability to recover as quickly or entirely as children or younger adults.
The Toll of Wheelchair Defects on Caretakers and Bystanders
However, wheelchair users are not the only ones who bear injuries when wheelchairs fail. Caretakers may also suffer when the wheelchair and its user fall on them or when they try to lift the chair and its occupant from the ground. Caretakers suffer bruises, fractures, muscle sprains, and concussions from falling, also. But others can also suffer injuries when a wheelchair falls forward, backward, or sideways. For example, a wheelchair failure on a ramp boarding a bus may injure those behind the wheelchair waiting to board when the brakes fail, and the chair speeds backward down the ramp.
Hidden Dangers of Defective and Damaged Wheelchairs
Other than defective wheels, wheel locks, tires, and spokes, wheelchairs with bad batteries or motors can cause the chair to become inoperable in inconvenient or dangerous areas, placing the user in stressful danger. Broken joysticks that operate the chair’s movement can cause whiplash and crashes into immovable objects or pedestrians. A defective seat can cause severe discomfort and loss of circulation for an individual who uses a wheelchair when the user is forced to sit in an uncomfortable seat.
Holding Manufacturers Accountable for Injuries Caused by Wheelchair Defects
Whether a wheelchair is defective in whole or part, the injured user may sue the manufacturer and others for negligently bringing a defective product to the public. Whether the wheelchair’s defect stems from its design or parts, those who produce it are responsible for damages to anyone injured while using it as designed. Product liability lawsuits hold those who bring defective products to market liable for the damages they cause.
Thus, when a wheelchair’s wheel falls off, the manufacturer may have to pay for the injuries to the user and others when the chair falls over. As such, the liable party or parties must pay for all damages the chair and its user receive or cause, such as a concussion and broken bones, to bystanders or caretakers when the chair hits them.
Design, Manufacturing, and Warning Flaws for Wheelchairs
A product is defective due to design, manufacturing flaws, or failure to warn the user that a device can cause injuries if misused. For example, a manufacturer may create an electric wheelchair designed for smoother handling, but the speed capability of the chair causes frame instability and resulting falls. A design defect may be why the device is dangerous and causes injury. On the other hand, the design may be flawless, but the manufacturer’s replacement of inferior metals for the frame causes the chair to malfunction under specific speed conditions.
Seeking Compensation for NJ Wheelchair Accident Victims
The liable parties are responsible for compensation to the victims of their negligence. The designer, manufacturer, and retailer (if applicable) may be on the hook to pay for any victim’s past and ongoing medical, therapy, and pharmacy bills resulting from a defective chair accident. Compensation may also include any lost income resulting from the accident and other personal or property damages arising from the injuries the victim and others sustained.
If you suffered a wheelchair accident injury due to a defective wheelchair in New Jersey, consult with our skilled team of attorneys at Cohen & Rielchelson today to discuss your options. Having practiced in the field for many years, our experienced lawyers have developed relationships with engineering and manufacturing experts who are instrumental in explaining and exposing product defects and their origins. Such experts are invaluable in establishing liability. It is impossible to win a lawsuit without evidence of the defect’s origin.
Experts also give testimony at product liability trials. You may need such convincing evidence to help win your case. Our attorneys know how to question experts supporting you and those supporting the defendants. We know how to prepare a case for trial and convince a jury that the designer, manufacturer, or retailer caused your injury and, therefore, must pay for your damages.
Strategies for Preventing Severe Wheelchair Injuries
Prevention is critical to avoiding severe wheelchair injuries. First, buying from a reputable manufacturer can significantly lower the risk of low-grade parts and materials. Secondly, regular wheelchair maintenance from a trusted service provider can keep all functions working properly and inspect the chair for potential defects. Finally, operating the wheelchair according to manufacturing instructions and avoiding potentially dangerous situations, like crowded malls or streets, can avoid accidents.
However, despite preventative measures, wheelchair users may still get hurt when they purchase or rent a defective wheelchair. When that happens, lawsuits and lawyers may be necessary. Discovering who or which company in the chain of design, manufacture, and sales is responsible for a defective product is the work of a product liability attorney. An investigation into the cause of an accident due to a product defect is typically complex. Some cases require patient and time-consuming digging through the legal process and behind-the-scenes experts and investigators.
Princeton Wheelchair Accident Lawyers at Cohen & Riechelson Provide Compassionate Legal Support for Wheelchair Injury Victims in New Jersey
You are entitled to compensation for your injuries caused by others’ negligence in New Jersey, including if you have been injured due to a defective wheelchair-related accident. You should not have to worry about your medical bills and ongoing therapeutic expenses for your recovery. Engage the services of Cohen & Rielchelson to help you recoup your losses and fund your future losses from falling victim to a defective wheelchair. Whether your case arose in West Windsor, Windsor, Ewing, Trenton, Hamilton, Lawrence, or elsewhere in Mercer County and across the state of New Jersey, trust us for the advice you need now. Call (609) 528-2596 for a free review of your wheelchair accident case.
