Hyattsville Product Injury Lawyer

Serious injuries deserve experienced attorneys

Were you injured by a defective product in Hyattsville, MD?

At Cohen & Cohen, P.C., we provide recognized product injury representation for injured clients throughout Hyattsville, MD.

If a product you used as intended caught fire, broke apart, or caused an injury its warnings never mentioned, the manufacturer and others who sold it may be responsible. A Hyattsville, MD product injury lawyer can preserve the product, trace how the defect arose, and hold each company in the chain of distribution accountable.

Product liability has been part of our practice for more than 25 years, and Cohen & Cohen, P.C. represents injured consumers only. Schedule a free consultation to review your claim.

Product Injury Lawyer Hyattsville, MD

A product injury lawyer in Hyattsville represents people harmed by defective consumer goods, vehicles, medications, and equipment. Maryland law allows these claims under several theories. Under strict liability, an injured person generally does not have to prove the manufacturer was careless. The focus is on the product itself: whether it was defective and unreasonably dangerous when it left the seller’s control, and whether that defect caused the injury.

Hospital emergency departments treated an estimated 15,069,000 injuries associated with consumer products nationwide in 2024, according to CPSC injury estimates. The same report estimates 59,900 product-related deaths in 2023.

Types of Product Injury Cases We Handle in Hyattsville

Defects fall into three broad categories: design defects, manufacturing defects, and inadequate warnings. Our Hyattsville product injury attorneys handle claims involving the following products and situations, and each requires a different approach to testing and proof.

• Car accidents. Some crashes are caused or worsened by failed brakes, tire tread separation, or airbags that deploy improperly. Owners can check vehicle recalls by VIN, and an open recall can be important evidence in the claim.
• Truck accidents. Brake failures, tire blowouts, and defective coupling equipment on commercial trucks can cause catastrophic crashes. The component manufacturer may share liability with the carrier.
• Motorcycle accidents. A defective helmet, a faulty brake system, or a throttle that sticks can turn a routine ride into a serious crash.
• Defective medical devices. Hip implants, surgical mesh, and heart devices sometimes fail inside the body and require revision surgery. Adverse events can be reported through FDA MedWatch reporting, and those reports can show a pattern of failures.
• Dangerous medications. Drugs marketed without adequate warnings about side effects or interactions can cause organ damage and other serious harm. These cases often focus on what the manufacturer knew and when, and on whether its warnings reached prescribing physicians.
• Children’s products. Cribs, car seats, and dangerous toys with small parts or toxic materials can injure children in seconds. We review recall histories and complaint records for each product, and we examine whether the packaging and age warnings were adequate for the children likely to use it.
• Household appliances. Pressure cookers, space heaters, and dryers can cause fires, burns, and explosions when a design flaw or assembly error is present.
• Food poisoning. Food contaminated with bacteria during processing or handling is a defective product under the law. Restaurants, distributors, and processors may each share responsibility.
• Workers’ compensation. A worker hurt by a defective saw, press, or ladder usually has a workers’ compensation claim and may also have a separate claim against the equipment manufacturer.
• Wrongful death. A fatal product failure can give surviving family members a claim for their loss.

Why Choose Cohen & Cohen, P.C. as My Product Injury Lawyer in Hyattsville, MD?

Attorneys Who Handle Product Defect Litigation

Kim Brooks-Rodney has practiced law since 1985 and concentrates on product defects, automobile negligence, medical malpractice, and other serious injury matters. She was admitted in the District of Columbia in 1986, in Maryland in 1993, and in Virginia in 2001. She is a member of the American Bar Association, and viewers have seen her discuss injury law on NBC4 News, Fox 5 News, and HLN.

Our founder, Wayne R. Cohen, includes product liability and class actions among his areas of focus. Class actions can matter in product cases, because a single defect often injures many consumers in the same way. He is admitted in Maryland, the District of Columbia, New York, and California. Our product injury lawyers in Hyattsville work alongside him to coordinate claims that involve manufacturers headquartered in other states.

A Record of Results for Injured Consumers

Clients have recovered over $300 million through our firm. A manufacturer facing a defect claim will retain engineers and defense counsel early, and you need a personal injury lawyer in Hyattsville, MD who is prepared to match that investment. We handle product injury claims on contingency, so you pay no attorney fees unless we recover compensation for you.

Understanding Product Injury Cases

What Is the Product Injury Case Timeline?

In our experience as defective product attorneys in Hyattsville, product cases tend to take longer than ordinary injury claims because the defect must be proven through testing and engineering analysis. A typical case moves through these phases.

1. Preservation. The product, its packaging, and the receipt must be kept exactly as they were after the injury. Do not return the item to the store or send it to the manufacturer.
2. Investigation. Engineers or other qualified professionals examine the product, and we search the CPSC recall search database and complaint records for similar failures.
3. Treatment and documentation of your injuries, including any surgery and long-term care.
4. Claim or lawsuit against the manufacturer, distributor, and retailer, which often involves companies located outside Maryland.
5. Discovery and resolution. Internal design documents, testing records, and prior complaints are requested from the manufacturer before settlement or trial.

Maryland generally allows three years from the date of injury to file suit. Some defects are not apparent right away, which can affect when the period begins. A product injury attorney in Hyattsville, MD can evaluate when the clock started in your case.

What Are Important Aspects of a Product Injury Case?

The elements of proof in a defect case explain why early action matters. As product injury lawyers in Hyattsville, MD, we pay particular attention to the following issues.

• Proof of the defect. The product itself is usually the most important evidence, and a missing or altered product can weaken the claim.
• Misuse defenses. Manufacturers often argue the product was used in a way they could not have anticipated. We document how the product was used and whether that use was foreseeable.
• Multiple defendants. Component makers, assemblers, distributors, and retailers may all share liability.
• Recalls and reports. A recall is helpful but not required. Consumers can also report unsafe products to the federal government, and those reports become part of the public record.
• Who was harmed. Bystanders and family members, not only purchasers, can be injured by defective products and may have claims of their own.

Damages, Liability, and Compensation for Product Injury Cases

Manufacturers, distributors, and sellers can each be held liable when a defective product causes injury. Maryland recognizes claims based on strict liability, negligence, and breach of warranty, and a single case may involve all three. A negligence claim looks at what the manufacturer did or failed to do, such as skipping safety testing or ignoring prior complaints. A strict liability claim looks at the product itself. Warranty claims rest on the promises, express or implied, that came with the product. Pleading every available theory gives the claim the best chance of surviving the manufacturer’s defenses.

Compensation in a product injury claim may include:

• Emergency care, surgery, and rehabilitation
• Future medical costs, including treatment for burns and scarring
• Lost income and diminished earning capacity
• Pain, suffering, disfigurement, and emotional distress

Under Courts Article § 11-108, Maryland limits noneconomic damages in most injury cases, with a cap of $980,000 for causes of action arising on or after October 1, 2026. Medical bills and lost earnings are not subject to that limit.

What Should You Bring to Your Product Injury Consultation?

Bring the product if you can do so safely. Otherwise, photograph it and keep it in a secure place. The following items are also helpful:

• The receipt, packaging, instructions, and any warning labels
• Photographs of the product, the scene, and your injuries
• Medical records and bills
• Any recall notice, correspondence with the manufacturer, or report you filed
• The names of anyone who saw the product fail or helped you afterward

During the consultation, a Hyattsville product injury lawyer from our firm will look at the product and your injuries, explain which theories of liability may apply, and give you a candid assessment of the claim. If you have questions about whether the seller also engaged in unfair practices, the Maryland Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division handles those complaints separately.

Reach Out to Cohen & Cohen, P.C. to Schedule a Consultation

A defective product claim depends on evidence that can be lost or discarded quickly. Our Hyattsville product injury attorneys offer a free consultation, and because we work on contingency, there are no attorney fees unless we recover compensation for you. Send us a message online at your convenience, and we will respond to arrange a meeting. Contact us to discuss your case with a Hyattsville defective product lawyer.