Colorado Product Liability Lawyer
Every day, Colorado consumers trust that the products they purchase and use are safe. When a defective or dangerous product causes injury, the consequences can be devastating—serious injuries, costly medical treatment, lost income, and permanent disability. Product liability law exists to hold manufacturers, distributors, and sellers accountable when their products harm consumers.
If you or a loved one has been injured by a defective product in Colorado, you need experienced legal representation that understands the complexities of product liability law and has the resources to take on large corporations. Eddington Law has been fighting for injured Colorado consumers for more than 35 years, and we have the knowledge, experience, and determination to help you recover the compensation you deserve.
Product liability cases are among the most complex personal injury claims. They often involve massive corporations with teams of lawyers, technical experts, and virtually unlimited resources to defend against claims. You need an attorney who won’t be intimidated, who has access to the best experts, and who has a proven track record of holding product manufacturers accountable.
At Eddington Law, we work on a contingency fee basis, meaning you pay no attorney fees unless we successfully recover compensation for you. We advance all case costs, including expert fees and investigation expenses. Your consultation is completely free, and we’re here to answer your questions and help you understand your legal options.
Types of Product Liability Cases We Handle
Product liability claims can arise from virtually any type of consumer product. Our Colorado product liability attorneys have experience with a wide range of defective product cases.
Defective Medical Devices
Medical devices are supposed to improve health and quality of life, but defective devices can cause serious harm. We handle cases involving defective hip replacements and knee implants, hernia mesh that causes complications, IVC filters that break or migrate, pacemakers and defibrillators with design flaws, surgical instruments that malfunction, defective spinal cord stimulators, and faulty insulin pumps.
Medical device manufacturers have a responsibility to thoroughly test their products and warn physicians and patients of known risks. When they fail to do so, injured patients have the right to seek compensation.
Dangerous Pharmaceutical Drugs
Prescription medications can cause unexpected and severe side effects when pharmaceutical companies fail to adequately test drugs or provide proper warnings. We represent clients injured by dangerous drugs including medications that cause heart attacks, strokes, or blood clots; drugs with undisclosed cancer risks; medications causing severe birth defects; drugs with dangerous interactions; and improperly labeled or contaminated medications.
Pharmaceutical companies often rush drugs to market without sufficient safety testing or fail to disclose known risks to maximize profits. Our attorneys hold these companies accountable for the harm their dangerous drugs cause.
Defective Motor Vehicles and Auto Parts
Vehicle defects can turn a minor accident into a catastrophe or cause accidents when none should have occurred. Our firm handles cases involving defective airbags (Takata airbags and others), faulty braking systems, defective tires that blow out or separate, sudden unintended acceleration, rollover-prone vehicles, defective seatbelts and restraint systems, and fuel system defects causing fires.
Colorado’s mountain driving conditions make vehicle safety particularly critical. When design or manufacturing defects compromise vehicle safety, manufacturers must be held responsible for resulting injuries.
Dangerous Consumer Products
Everyday consumer products can harbor hidden dangers. We handle cases involving unsafe children’s toys and products, defective power tools and equipment, dangerous household appliances, defective ladders and scaffolding, unsafe furniture (tip-over hazards), defective exercise equipment, and faulty electronics causing fires or burns.
Consumer product manufacturers owe a duty to ensure their products are reasonably safe for their intended use and to warn consumers of any non-obvious dangers.
Defective Machinery and Equipment
Industrial equipment, farm machinery, and commercial tools must have proper safety guards and warnings. We represent clients injured by defective construction equipment, agricultural machinery, manufacturing equipment, forklifts and material handling equipment, power tools, and industrial machinery without proper guards.
Workers and bystanders injured by defective machinery often have product liability claims in addition to workers’ compensation claims.
Defective Recreational and Sports Equipment
Colorado’s active outdoor lifestyle means many residents use recreational equipment regularly. Defective equipment can cause serious injuries, including defective ski bindings and equipment, faulty bicycle components, defective helmets, unsafe camping and climbing gear, defective ATVs and off-road vehicles, and faulty watercraft and boating equipment.
Manufacturers of recreational equipment must account for foreseeable uses and ensure their products can withstand the stresses of their intended activities.
Types of Product Defects
Product liability claims generally fall into three categories based on the type of defect involved.
Design Defects
A design defect exists when a product’s design is inherently dangerous, even when manufactured exactly as intended. The flaw exists in the blueprint or specifications before production begins.
Design defect claims require showing that a safer alternative design was feasible and would have prevented the injury without significantly impacting the product’s utility or cost. Examples include vehicles with a high center of gravity prone to rollovers, tools without adequate safety guards, and products made with materials unsuitable for their intended use.
Design defects affect all products in a particular model or line, potentially exposing manufacturers to liability for widespread injuries.
Manufacturing Defects
Manufacturing defects occur when a product is improperly made, causing it to deviate from its intended design. These defects typically affect only some products in a production run.
Manufacturing defects can result from contamination during production, use of substandard materials, assembly errors, quality control failures, and improper packaging or labeling during production.
Even a single manufacturing defect can cause catastrophic injuries, and manufacturers are strictly liable for harm caused by products that don’t meet their own specifications.
Marketing Defects (Failure to Warn)
Marketing defects, also called “failure to warn” cases, occur when a product lacks adequate warnings, instructions, or labels about proper use and foreseeable dangers.
Manufacturers must warn consumers about non-obvious risks that could cause injury during foreseeable use or misuse. Failure to warn cases may involve insufficient safety warnings, inadequate instructions for safe use, failure to warn about side effects or risks, missing labels in appropriate languages, and warnings that are not prominently displayed or easily understood.
Even if a product is properly designed and manufactured, the failure to provide adequate warnings can make the manufacturer liable for resulting injuries.
How Product Liability Law Works in Colorado
Colorado product liability law provides multiple legal theories under which injured consumers can seek compensation from those responsible for defective products.
Strict Liability
Under Colorado law, manufacturers and sellers can be held strictly liable for injuries caused by defective products. This means injured consumers don’t need to prove the manufacturer was negligent—only that the product was defective and caused injury.
Strict liability applies when a product is defective in design, manufacturing, or marketing (failure to warn); the defect existed when the product left the defendant’s control; the product was being used as intended or in a reasonably foreseeable way; and the defect was a substantial factor in causing the injury.
Strict liability recognizes that manufacturers and sellers are in the best position to ensure product safety and should bear the cost when dangerous products injure consumers.
Negligence
Product liability claims can also be based on negligence, which requires proving that the manufacturer or seller failed to exercise reasonable care in designing, manufacturing, testing, or marketing the product.
Negligence claims may be appropriate when the manufacturer failed to adequately test the product, used substandard materials to cut costs, ignored known safety risks, failed to implement reasonable quality control measures, or didn’t properly train workers in safe manufacturing processes.
Breach of Warranty
Products come with implied and sometimes express warranties about their quality and fitness for use. When products fail to meet these warranties and cause injury, consumers may have breach of warranty claims.
Colorado recognizes implied warranties of merchantability (the product is fit for its ordinary purpose) and fitness for a particular purpose (when a seller knows the buyer’s specific use and recommends a product for that use). Breach of warranty claims can provide an additional basis for recovery in product liability cases.
Who Can Be Held Liable?
Colorado law allows product liability claims against various parties in the chain of distribution, including the product manufacturer, parts manufacturers and component suppliers, wholesale distributors, retail sellers, and companies that assembled or installed the product.
In many cases, multiple parties share liability for a defective product. Our attorneys investigate the entire supply chain to identify all responsible parties and maximize your potential compensation.
Common Injuries from Defective Products
Defective products can cause a wide range of injuries, from minor to catastrophic. Common injuries our clients have suffered include:
Serious injuries from defective products often include burns from defective electronics or appliances, traumatic brain injuries from defective helmets or safety equipment, spinal cord injuries causing paralysis, severe lacerations and amputations from defective tools or machinery, internal organ damage from defective medical devices, chemical burns from toxic products, broken bones and fractures, vision loss from defective eyewear or chemical exposure, and permanent scarring and disfigurement.
Catastrophic product defects can also result in wrongful death. When defective products cause fatal injuries, surviving family members may have both product liability and wrongful death claims.
The severity of product-related injuries often warrants substantial compensation to address extensive medical treatment, long-term or permanent disability, lost earning capacity, and profound impact on quality of life.
Compensation Available in Colorado Product Liability Cases
Victims of defective products in Colorado can recover various types of damages to address both economic and non-economic losses.
Economic Damages
Economic damages compensate for measurable financial losses, including:
Medical Expenses: Past and future costs of emergency treatment, hospitalization, surgery, doctor visits, medication, physical therapy, rehabilitation, medical devices, home health care, and any other necessary medical treatment.
Lost Wages and Income: Compensation for time missed from work during recovery, as well as lost future earning capacity if injuries result in permanent disability or reduced ability to work.
Property Damage: Cost to repair or replace damaged property caused by the defective product.
Other Financial Losses: Additional out-of-pocket expenses related to the injury, such as travel to medical appointments, home modifications for disabilities, and assistance with daily activities.
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages address intangible losses that profoundly affect quality of life:
Pain and Suffering: Compensation for physical pain, discomfort, and suffering caused by the injuries.
Emotional Distress: Recovery for psychological impact, including anxiety, depression, PTSD, and mental anguish resulting from the injuries.
Loss of Enjoyment of Life: Compensation for inability to participate in activities and hobbies that brought joy before the injury.
Disfigurement and Scarring: Additional compensation when injuries result in permanent visible scarring or disfigurement.
Loss of Consortium: Spouses may recover for loss of companionship, affection, and intimacy resulting from their partner’s injuries.
Colorado does not cap non-economic damages in most product liability cases, allowing juries to fully compensate victims for their suffering.
Punitive Damages
In cases where the manufacturer’s conduct was particularly egregious—such as knowingly selling dangerous products or deliberately concealing known risks—Colorado law allows punitive damages designed to punish the wrongdoer and deter similar conduct.
Punitive damages may be available when evidence shows the manufacturer acted with fraud, malice, or willful and wanton conduct. These damages can be substantial, sometimes exceeding compensatory damages, particularly in cases involving large corporations that prioritized profits over consumer safety.
The Product Liability Claims Process
Product liability cases require extensive investigation, expert analysis, and strategic litigation. Here’s what to expect when you work with Eddington Law.
Initial Consultation and Case Evaluation
Your product liability case begins with a free, confidential consultation. We’ll discuss your injuries, the product involved, how the injury occurred, medical treatment you’ve received, and your questions about the legal process.
We’ll evaluate whether you have a viable product liability claim and explain your legal options. If we believe you have a strong case, we’ll explain how we can help and answer questions about the process.
Preserving the Product and Evidence
One of the most critical steps in a product liability case is preserving the defective product itself. The product is essential evidence that must be protected from loss, alteration, or destruction.
We’ll advise you on how to safely preserve the product, photograph it from multiple angles, retain all packaging, instructions, and warnings, preserve receipts and purchase records, and document the scene where the injury occurred if possible.
Never discard the product or allow anyone else to examine it without consulting an attorney first. Destroying evidence—even unintentionally—can severely damage your case.
Investigation and Expert Analysis
Product liability cases require thorough investigation and expert testimony. Our firm will retain qualified experts to examine and test the product, review the manufacturer’s design specifications and testing, analyze whether the product met applicable safety standards, determine what caused the defect, evaluate whether safer alternative designs were feasible, and assess whether warnings were adequate.
We may work with engineers, product safety experts, medical experts, industry specialists, and other professionals depending on the type of product and injury involved.
Identifying All Defendants
We investigate the entire supply chain to identify all parties who may be liable, including researching corporate ownership structures, identifying the manufacturer and distributor, determining if multiple companies contributed to the defect, and investigating whether the product was subject to recalls or prior complaints.
Identifying all responsible parties is crucial to maximizing your potential recovery, especially if one defendant has limited assets or insurance.
Negotiation and Litigation
We begin by attempting to negotiate a fair settlement with the defendants and their insurance companies. Product manufacturers often prefer to settle rather than risk a jury verdict and the negative publicity of a trial.
However, we always prepare your case for trial from the beginning. If settlement negotiations don’t produce a fair offer, we’re fully prepared to take your case to court. Our trial experience and reputation for thorough preparation often motivate defendants to make better settlement offers.
Product liability trials can be complex, involving extensive expert testimony, technical evidence, and sometimes weeks of trial time. Our experienced trial attorneys have the skills necessary to present compelling cases to Colorado juries.
Challenges in Product Liability Cases
Product liability cases present unique challenges that require experienced legal representation.
Taking on Large Corporations
Product manufacturers are often massive corporations with deep pockets and aggressive legal teams. They have the resources to hire top defense lawyers, expert witnesses, and investigators to defend against claims.
David-versus-Goliath battles require attorneys who aren’t intimidated by corporate defendants, have the financial resources to fund expensive litigation, have access to top experts, and have experience winning cases against large corporations.
Eddington Law has been successfully representing injured consumers against major manufacturers for over 35 years.
Complex Technical and Scientific Evidence
Product liability cases involve complex engineering, manufacturing, and often medical issues. Successfully proving a product defect requires expert testimony that can be understood by judges and jurors.
We work with the best experts in their fields to explain technical concepts clearly and compellingly, making complex evidence accessible to juries.
Proving Causation
Defendants often argue that something other than the product defect caused your injury. Proving that the defect was a substantial factor in causing your injuries requires careful investigation and expert analysis.
We thoroughly document how the injury occurred, eliminate alternative explanations, and present clear evidence linking the product defect to your injuries.
Statute of Limitations
Colorado generally allows two years from the date of injury to file a product liability lawsuit. However, the “discovery rule” may extend this deadline if the defect or injury wasn’t immediately apparent.
Additionally, Colorado has a statute of repose that generally bars product liability claims more than ten years after the product was first sold, with some exceptions.
Missing these deadlines can permanently bar your claim, so it’s crucial to consult an attorney as soon as possible after discovering your injury.
Why Choose Eddington Law for Your Colorado Product Liability Case?
Product liability cases require specialized knowledge, substantial resources, and a willingness to take on powerful corporations. Here’s what sets Eddington Law apart:
Over 35 Years of Experience
Since 1984, we’ve been representing Colorado consumers injured by defective products. Our decades of experience mean we understand what it takes to win complex product liability cases.
Resources to Take on Major Corporations
Product liability litigation is expensive, often requiring hundreds of thousands of dollars in expert fees and investigation costs. We have the financial strength to fund these cases and the relationships with top experts necessary to prove product defects.
Proven Results
We’ve recovered millions of dollars for clients injured by defective products. Our track record demonstrates our ability to hold manufacturers accountable and win substantial compensation for injured consumers.
No Upfront Costs
We handle product liability cases on a contingency fee basis and advance all case costs. You pay no attorney fees unless we successfully recover compensation, and all expenses are reimbursed from any recovery.
Trial-Ready Approach
Manufacturers know which law firms will settle cheaply and which are prepared to go to trial. Our reputation as aggressive trial lawyers often results in better settlement offers because defendants know we won’t back down.
Personalized Attention
Despite handling complex cases, we never lose sight of the human element. You’ll work directly with experienced attorneys who genuinely care about your recovery and your family’s wellbeing.
Statewide Representation
With offices in Denver and Steamboat Springs, we serve injured consumers throughout Colorado.
Frequently Asked Questions About Colorado Product Liability Cases
How do I know if I have a product liability case?
You may have a product liability case if a product caused your injury, the injury occurred while using the product as intended (or in a reasonably foreseeable way), and the product had a design flaw, manufacturing defect, or inadequate warnings. Consultation with an experienced product liability attorney can help determine if you have a viable claim.
What if I lost the defective product or threw it away?
While having the actual product greatly strengthens your case, we may still be able to pursue a claim. We can work to obtain an identical product for testing, use photographs and witness testimony, and obtain records of similar defects and complaints. However, this is why it’s crucial to preserve the product whenever possible.
How long do I have to file a claim?
Colorado generally allows two years from the date of injury to file a product liability lawsuit. However, if the defect or injury wasn’t immediately apparent, the discovery rule may extend this deadline. Additionally, Colorado’s statute of repose generally bars claims filed more than ten years after the product was first sold. Because these deadlines are complex and case-specific, consult an attorney as soon as possible.
Can I sue if I bought the product used or received it as a gift?
Yes. Product liability claims aren’t limited to the original purchaser. Anyone foreseeably injured by a defective product can potentially bring a claim, regardless of whether they bought it, received it as a gift, borrowed it, or were simply near it when it malfunctioned.
What if the product came with a warning label?
The presence of a warning doesn’t automatically shield the manufacturer from liability. We evaluate whether the warning adequately described the risks, was placed prominently where users would see it, was written clearly in appropriate languages, and covered the specific type of injury that occurred. Many warnings are insufficient to protect manufacturers from liability.
How much is my product liability case worth?
Case value depends on many factors including severity of injuries, amount of medical treatment required, whether injuries are permanent, lost income and future earning capacity, degree of pain and suffering, strength of evidence proving the defect, and whether the manufacturer’s conduct warrants punitive damages. During your consultation, we can discuss factors specific to your case.
How long does a product liability case take?
Product liability cases typically take longer than other personal injury claims due to their complexity. Simple cases may resolve in 12-18 months, while complex cases involving multiple defendants and extensive expert analysis can take 2-4 years or longer. We work efficiently while ensuring we build the strongest possible case.
Will I have to go to court?
Many product liability cases settle before trial. However, we prepare every case as if it will go to court, which often results in better settlement offers. If your case does go to trial, our experienced attorneys will guide you through the process and fight for maximum compensation.
Take Action to Protect Your Rights
If you’ve been injured by a defective product in Colorado, time is critical. Evidence can be lost, witnesses’ memories fade, and legal deadlines approach. The sooner you contact an attorney, the better we can protect your rights and preserve crucial evidence.
Product manufacturers have teams of lawyers working to minimize their liability from the moment a claim arises. You need an experienced advocate on your side who will fight just as hard for you.
At Eddington Law, we have the experience, resources, and determination to take on major corporations and hold them accountable for the harm their dangerous products cause. We’ve been fighting for Colorado consumers for more than 35 years, and we’re ready to fight for you.
Contact Eddington Law today for a free, confidential consultation:
- Call (702) 766-7580 (available 24/7)
- Visit eddington.law
- Stop by our Denver or Steamboat Springs office
We serve product liability victims throughout Colorado, including:
- Denver
- Steamboat Springs
- Colorado Springs
- Fort Collins
- Boulder
- Aurora
- Vail
- Aspen
- Grand Junction
- Pueblo
- And all surrounding communities
You don’t pay unless we win. Let our experienced Colorado product liability attorneys hold manufacturers accountable and recover the compensation you deserve.
Eddington Law – Protecting Colorado Consumers Since 1984