DELVENTHAL LAW
INJURED FROM A DANGEROUS PRODUCT?
Manufacturers, retailers, and marketers have an obligation to ensure that they are not putting Indiana consumers in harm’s way. Simply put, unreasonably dangerous products should never be placed onto the market.
Unfortunately, in far too many cases, businesses put profits ahead of people: they rush out risky products, failing to make sure that consumer safety is adequately protected.
At the Delventhal Law Office, our Fort Wayne product defect attorneys hold negligent companies legally liable for their misconduct. We work aggressively to ensure that our clients are able to maximize their compensation. If you or a loved one was injured by any type of defective product in Allen County, IN, please do not hesitate to contact our Fort Wayne law office for a free consultation.
NOT ALL PRODUCTS ARE SAFE
While companies have a legal obligation to put reasonably safe products on the market, they do not always live up to this duty. At the Delventhal Law Office, our Fort Wayne products liability lawyers have extensive experience handling personal injury cases involving a wide range of dangerous and defective products. Some examples of consumer and industrial products that have been cited in product defect cases include:
- Medical devices;
- Food or prescription drugs;
- Children’s toys;
- Household appliances;
- Vehicles and automotive parts;
- Defective electronics;
- Work-related equipment;
- Industrial equipment; and
- Many more.
UNDERSTANDING PRODUCT LIABILITY CLAIMS
Defective product claims typically fit into one of three different categories. Manufacturing defects refer to claims in which there is a flaw with a specific product. The overall product design may be fine, but something may have gone wrong in the manufacturing process. Design defects refer to claims in which there is an inherent safety problem in the design of an entire line of products. Finally, failure to warn claims refer to cases in which the product did not come with proper safety instructions or proper labels. For the most part, product liabilities cases in Fort Wayne are brought under Indiana Code § 34-20-1-1[1]. If you or your loved one was injured by a product, you should have a basic understanding of this statute. Indiana law defines a defective product as one that:
- Creates risks that are unforeseeable to the ordinary user; and
- Creates unreasonable danger to people who are using the product in the intended manner.
This definition highlights two key points. A product is not defective simply because it is dangerous. For example, an industrial blowtorch is inherently dangerous. There is no way around that fact. However, those dangers are reasonably foreseeable. If that product is used in the proper manner, it should not cause problems.
Additionally, companies are not liable for people intentionally misusing their products. If a person uses a product in an unreasonable manner, then they may not be able to bring a product liability claim. For example, if a person drives a car 120 miles per hour on the highway, it is unlikely that the manufacturer will be found at fault for any resulting injuries.
COMPREHENSIVE INVESTIGATION IS REQUIRED
A comprehensive investigation is the key to prevailing in a product defect case. If you were hurt by a dangerous product, it is imperative that you reach out to an experienced Fort Wayne personal injury attorney as soon as possible. Your attorney will be able to initiate an in-depth investigation into your claim. When you hire the Delventhal Law Office, our legal team will immediately take action to protect your rights. This includes:
- Conducting a thorough investigation;
- Carefully obtaining documentation and evidence;
- Consulting with industry experts;
- Using legal tools to get evidence held by the company;
- Working towards a full settlement; and
- Preparing for product liability litigation.
INJURED VICTIMS DESERVE FAIR COMPENSATION
Product liability claims are deeply complex. Beyond proving liability, you will also be required to prove the full extent of your damages. If your damages are not properly documented, you may miss out on financial compensation that is rightfully yours. Large companies and their insurance providers will look for any opportunity that they can find to limit your settlement offer. You need an aggressive Fort Wayne product defect lawyer by your side. At the Delventhal Law Office, our legal team can help you seek compensation for:
- Emergency medical care;
- All other medical expenses;
- Long-term treatment and rehabilitative care;
- Lost income, including diminished earning ability;
- Pain and suffering;
- Emotional distress;
- Permanent scarring or disfigurement;
- Long-term disability or physical impairment;
- Reduced quality of life; and
- The wrongful death of a family member.
SPEAK TO OUR FORT PRODUCT LIABILITY ATTORNEYS IN FORT WAYNE TODAY
At the Delventhal Law Office, our top-rated Indiana personal injury lawyers have extensive experience handling defective product claims. If you or a family member was injured by a dangerous product in Fort Wayne, please do not hesitate to contact our law firm today at (260) 238-8608 for a free, no obligation initial consultation. You pay nothing unless we win your case.
The Indiana law that applies to your product defect case
Indiana product-liability claims arise under the Indiana Product Liability Act (IC 34-20[2]), with the two-year statute of limitations in IC 34-11-2-4[3] measured from the date of injury and a ten-year statute of repose running from delivery to the initial consumer. Recovery requires proof that the product was defective in design, manufacture, or warning, that the defect existed when the product left the manufacturer's control, and that it caused the injury. Indiana's 51% modified comparative-fault rule (IC 34-51-2-6[4]) applies, though contributory misuse arguments cut differently than in ordinary negligence.
How insurance carriers fight Fort Wayne product defect claims
Product manufacturers defend on four fronts. First, they argue the user misused the product or modified it from its original configuration, breaking the chain of design defect. Second, they argue the alleged defect did not cause the injury — pointing to alternative causes, user inexperience, or environmental factors. Third, they argue the product met all applicable industry standards and federal regulations, treating compliance as a complete defense (it is not, but it is persuasive). Fourth, they argue the open-and-obvious-danger doctrine when the hazard is one a reasonable user should have appreciated. We answer with engineering analysis, internal design documents pulled in discovery, prior-incident histories obtained from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission[5] database, and recall records published at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration[6] for regulated products.
Evidence we preserve in the first 48 hours
Product cases require physical preservation of the defective unit and rapid public-records work before recall documents and incident histories disappear.
- The physical product itself, preserved unaltered in chain-of-custody storage — never returned to the manufacturer, never repaired, never disposed of.
- Original purchase receipts, packaging, instructions, warnings, and warranty documentation, plus any prior service records for the specific unit.
- CPSC incident reports and recall notices for the product line, downloaded from the federal database before they are archived or removed.
- Photographs and video of the product before disassembly, including serial-number plates, warning labels, and any failure point or fracture surface.
- Medical records linking the mechanism of injury to the product failure — burn pattern, laceration geometry, impact direction, or pharmaceutical exposure.
Damages categories in an Indiana product defect case
Product-defect damages include economic recovery for medical care, lost wages, lost earning capacity, and any permanent disability, plus non-economic recovery for pain, suffering, and disfigurement. Burn injuries, amputations, and head injuries from defective consumer products often produce lifetime care needs. Recall histories and prior-incident data published by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission[5] establish the manufacturer's notice of the defect, which supports both the compensatory claim and any argument for punitive damages where the conduct meets the willful-or-wanton threshold under IC 34-51-3[7].
What our product defect clients ask most
What types of defects does the Indiana Product Liability Act cover?
Indiana recognizes three defect theories under IC 34-20[2]: design defects, manufacturing defects, and failure-to-warn defects. Design defects exist when the product's intended design is unreasonably dangerous. Manufacturing defects exist when a specific unit deviates from the design specification. Failure-to-warn claims arise when the manufacturer failed to provide adequate warnings about non-obvious hazards inherent in proper use.
Do I have to keep the defective product after the injury?
Preserving the product unaltered is critical. Throwing it away, repairing it, or returning it to the manufacturer for refund destroys the most important piece of evidence and can result in dismissal under spoliation doctrine. Store the product in its post-incident condition, photograph it, and contact counsel before doing anything else with it.
What is Indiana's product-liability statute of repose?
Indiana imposes a ten-year statute of repose under IC 34-20-3-1[8] measured from the date the product was delivered to the initial user or consumer. After ten years, most claims are time-barred even if the injury just occurred, with narrow exceptions for asbestos and certain latent-disease cases. The two-year statute of limitations runs from injury date independently.
Does FDA approval or industry-standard compliance bar a product-defect claim?
Compliance with FDA approval or industry standards is admissible but not dispositive in Indiana. Manufacturers often argue compliance equals safety, but the Indiana Product Liability Act treats compliance as one factor the jury weighs alongside engineering analysis, prior-incident history, and the existence of safer alternative designs that were available at the time of manufacture.
Can I sue the retailer that sold the product, or only the manufacturer?
Indiana generally channels product-liability claims to the manufacturer under IC 34-20-2-3[9]. Retailers are typically dismissed unless they are also the manufacturer, the manufacturer is insolvent, or the retailer modified the product. The named manufacturer is the proper defendant in almost every consumer-product case filed in Allen County.
What happens after you hire us
From day one, we preserve the physical product in chain-of-custody storage, send preservation letters to the manufacturer and retailer, and pull CPSC and FDA records for prior-incident and recall history. We retain qualified engineering or pharmacology experts before filing, send a documented demand once medical care plateaus, and — if the manufacturer's offer falls short — file suit in Allen Superior Court or federal court when diversity supports it. Every step is on a contingency-fee basis: no fee unless we recover.
