Primary Location
Phoenix Personal Injury Lawyers
2700 N Central Ave Suite 320, Phoenix, AZ 85004, United States
Phone: (602) 905-7766
Call us at (855) 855-8910
Call us at (855) 855-8910
You bought something off the shelf. Used it exactly how the label said. And it hurt you. Now you're stuck with doctor visits, time off work, and a product that should have been safe sitting in your kitchen or garage.
Not all product failures are just bad luck. Arizona law says a product is defective when it harms someone during normal use. Three types of defects show up again and again in the cases we see:
Design defect. The product was dangerous before it ever left the drawing board. Built exactly to spec, and still unsafe. Picture a space heater engineered without an auto-shutoff. Works as designed, overheats as designed, burns your house down as designed.
Manufacturing defect. The blueprint was fine, but something went sideways in the factory. One batch, one unit, one bad weld. You ended up with the defective one. A tire with a weak sidewall because someone on the line used the wrong compound? That's a manufacturing defect.
Marketing defect, also called failure to warn. The company sold the product without telling you it could hurt you. No label. No instructions. No guard on the blade. A power tool missing basic safety warnings is the kind of thing we're talking about.
One thing people don't realize about the Valley: Arizona's heat accelerates product failures. Tires, batteries, plastic housings on electronics. They degrade faster here than in cooler climates. A product that works fine in Seattle can fall apart in a Phoenix summer. Manufacturers should account for that. Many don't.
So if you used something the way it was meant to be used and it broke, caught fire, or just stopped working in a way that injured you, keep it. Don't toss it. Don't let the store take it back. That's your evidence now. Defective products often cause catastrophic injury claims in Phoenix that demand thorough investigation.
Walk through any personal injury attorney's case files and you'll see the same product categories come up over and over. This isn't limited to one industry. Phoenix families get hurt by everyday stuff that should have been safe.
Vehicle parts are at the top of the list. Bad brakes. Airbags that deploy when they shouldn't, or don't deploy when they should. Tire blowouts. Seatbelts that unlatch on impact. Our legal team secured a $7.9 million verdict for a client who broke their neck when a defective tire blew out. That's not a freak accident. It's a product that failed.
Medical devices are another big one. Hip implants that corrode inside the body. Knee replacements that loosen. Surgical mesh causing chronic pain years after surgery. Pacemakers with software glitches. These products go through FDA approval, and they still hurt people.
Then there's the stuff in your house. Pressure cookers that explode. Space heaters that catch fire. Washing machines that shake themselves apart. You trust these products because you bought them at a store. But the store didn't build them. And the company that did might have cut corners.
Kids get hurt too. Cribs with slats too wide. Car seats with faulty buckles. Toys with small parts or toxic paint. Parents shouldn't have to worry that a product designed for children could injure their child. Always check national recall lists [1] for products with known safety issues.
Pharmaceuticals round out the list. Drugs with side effects the manufacturer knew about and didn't disclose. Contamination from the production line. These cases are harder to spot because the injury develops slowly.
And power tools. Angle grinders, table saws, lawn mowers. Missing guards. Defective components. Workers and homeowners both end up in emergency rooms because of these.
Bottom line: if something you purchased or used caused an injury, the manufacturer had a legal duty to make it safe. When they didn't, that's on them. Defective helmets and safety gear can lead to serious head trauma — cases our brain injury representation near Phoenix team handles.
Here's where Arizona law really works in your favor. You don't have to pinpoint the exact moment things went wrong. Under strict liability, you can go after anyone in the supply chain. Just show the product was defective and it caused your injury. That's it.
Your claim can target:
We tell clients this all the time: don't just think about the brand name on the box. Say you got hurt by a defective brake pad. That pad might trace back to a parts supplier in another country, an assembler in the Midwest, and a dealership in Scottsdale that installed it. Every one of those companies could be on the hook.
And here's the Phoenix angle. This metro area is one of the biggest distribution hubs in the Southwest. Warehouses and fulfillment centers in Chandler, Goodyear, Glendale. That means the companies responsible for moving the product through the supply chain often have a physical presence right here in Maricopa County. Makes the case logistically easier to pursue.
Your attorney will build the case around one or more legal theories. Arizona recognizes three, and they each work differently.
This is the one you'll hear about most in product defect cases. You don't have to show the manufacturer was careless or that anyone dropped the ball. Prove three things and you win: the product had a defect, the defect was there when it left the manufacturer, and that defect is what hurt you. Arizona courts apply the Restatement (Third) of Torts here. It's a well-tested framework that judges and juries understand.
With this theory, you're saying the company failed to meet a reasonable standard of care. They skipped testing. Ignored internal safety reports. Cut costs on materials. Negligence works especially well when there's documentation, emails, memos, testing data, showing the company knew something was wrong.
Every product carries implied warranties. It should do what it's supposed to do. It should be safe for its intended use. When a manufacturer also makes specific promises about durability or performance and the product fails to deliver, breach of warranty gives you another path to recovery. This theory applies less often but can be useful in the right situation.
Your lawyer might combine all three. That happens a lot in Arizona product cases, and it puts you in the strongest possible position at the negotiation table or in front of a jury. Defective medical devices often overlap with medical malpractice claims our Phoenix lawyers pursue.
The first 48 hours matter more than people think. What you do right after the injury shapes your entire case. Here's the playbook:
See a doctor. Today. Not tomorrow. Even if you feel okay, some injuries from defective products don't show symptoms right away. Burns might look minor but go deeper than you think. Internal injuries from an exploding pressure cooker might not cause pain for hours. Your medical records start the clock on proving what happened.
Keep the product. This is the one thing people mess up the most. Your instinct says throw it away, return it, or try to fix it. Don't. The product in its current broken, defective state is the single most important piece of evidence your attorney needs. Keep the box. The receipt. The manual. Warning labels. All of it.
Document everything. Grab your phone. Photograph the product from every angle. Photograph your injuries. The scene. Any damage. Then sit down and write out what happened. Date, time, what you were doing, how the product failed. Memory fades. Write it while it's fresh.
File a CPSC report. The Consumer Product Safety Commission tracks defective products. Filing at saferproducts.gov [3] creates an official record, and it might protect someone else from the same injury.
Do not give a statement to the manufacturer's insurance company. They will call. They will sound sympathetic. But their entire goal is to get you to say something they can use to reduce your claim. Politely decline and direct them to your attorney.
Call a product liability attorney before you do anything else with the claim. Before recorded statements. Before signing anything. Your lawyer handles the communication from that point forward and starts preserving evidence immediately.
Most product liability cases in the Phoenix area go through Maricopa County Superior Court. Your attorney will know the specific procedures and filing requirements.
Going up against a product manufacturer means going up against a company with money, lawyers, and a team whose whole job is to protect the company. You need someone on your side who knows how to handle that.
First, your attorney gathers everything. Medical records. Photos. The product itself. Purchase receipts. Any emails or calls you've had with the manufacturer or store. Each document adds another layer to your case.
Then come the experts. And product liability cases almost always need them. We're talking about engineers who tear the product apart and figure out exactly what failed. Safety consultants who compare the product against industry standards. Medical professionals who connect your specific injuries to the specific defect. Without expert testimony, these cases are hard to win. With it, the picture becomes clear.
Your attorney also builds a timeline, tracing the product from concept through design, manufacturing, distribution, and sale. Where in that chain did the defect originate? Who had the chance to catch it and didn't? That chain of custody tells the story.
And then it's either negotiation or trial. Most cases settle. But some companies refuse to offer what's fair, especially when admitting fault could trigger a recall or class action. When that happens, you go to a jury. Companies notice when your Phoenix personal injury lawyers have trial experience and aren't bluffing about going to court.
Here's something worth knowing: Arizona does not cap compensatory damages in product liability cases. No arbitrary limit. What you recover is based on what you actually lost.
Economic damages are the straightforward ones. Medical bills from the ER, surgery, hospital stays, prescriptions, physical therapy. Future medical costs if you need ongoing treatment. Lost wages for every day you couldn't work. And reduced earning capacity if this injury changes what jobs you can do going forward.
Non-economic damages are harder to calculate, but they're real. The physical pain. The anxiety. Nights you can't sleep. Activities you used to enjoy that you can't do anymore. Scarring that changes how you feel about yourself. Juries in Arizona take these seriously.
Then there's punitive damages. These exist to punish companies that knew their product was dangerous and sold it anyway. Not every case qualifies. But when the evidence shows a manufacturer buried safety reports or ignored defect complaints to protect profits, Arizona courts have no problem awarding punitive damages on top of everything else.
Two years. That's your window from the date of injury to file a product liability claim in Arizona [2]. After that, the court will almost certainly throw your case out. No exceptions for being a day late.
But there's a second deadline most people don't know about. Arizona has a 12-year statute of repose that starts running from the date the product was first sold. Doesn't matter when you got hurt. If the product is older than 12 years, your right to file could be gone even if your injury just happened last month.
There are tolling exceptions. Some injuries don't show up right away. A pharmaceutical that causes organ damage over years. A chemical in a product that leads to a slow-developing condition. If you couldn't have reasonably known the product caused your injury, the clock might start later. Your attorney can determine if tolling applies to your situation.
One more thing specific to Arizona. The dry desert climate degrades physical evidence faster than you'd expect. Rubber breaks down. Plastics crack and crumble. Manufacturers destroy internal records after a few years. The longer you wait, the harder it becomes to prove your case.
Don't sit on this. Talk to a Phoenix product liability attorney early. Give your legal team time to preserve what matters before it's gone.
Our attorneys have handled personal injury cases across Arizona and California. We know how Phoenix insurance companies operate, and we know how to push back.
That number reflects real results for real families — medical bills paid, lost wages recovered, and futures protected.
You pay nothing upfront. Our fee comes out of your settlement or verdict. If we do not win your case, you owe us nothing.
Accidents do not follow business hours. Neither do we. Call (602) 905-7766 any time — nights, weekends, and holidays.
Our Phoenix team works out of 2700 N Central Ave, Suite 320. We know the roads, the courts, and the insurance adjusters you are up against.
“After a crash, you need a team that answers the phone, explains your options, and fights for every dollar you are owed. That is what we do at The Simon Law Group.”
Over 250 years of combined attorney experience
Phoenix office at 2700 N Central Ave, Suite 320 |
Licensed in Arizona and California
Crashes caused by impaired or drunk drivers
Whiplash, back injuries, and low-speed collision claims
Hit-and-run crashes and unidentified driver claims
Serious injuries from head-on and wrong-way crashes
High-speed crashes on Phoenix freeways and surface streets
Seek medical care first. Then preserve the product and its packaging. Don't repair or throw it away. Photograph everything, including the product, the scene, and your injuries. Call a product liability attorney before speaking with the manufacturer or their insurance company.
Any party in the distribution chain. That includes the manufacturer, component makers, distributors, wholesalers, and the retailer that sold you the product. Arizona's strict liability law means you don't need to prove they were negligent, just that the product was defective and caused your injury.
Yes. Arizona law protects anyone harmed by a defective product. It doesn't matter whether you bought it, received it as a gift, borrowed it, or used it at someone else's home. If the product was defective and caused your injury, you have the right to file a claim.
You have two years from the date of injury to file your claim. Arizona also has a 12-year statute of repose that runs from the date the product was first sold. Tolling exceptions may apply if the injury was not immediately discoverable.
You can recover medical expenses, lost income, pain and suffering, and emotional distress. Arizona places no cap on compensatory damages in product liability cases. Punitive damages are also available if the manufacturer knowingly released a dangerous product.
Not always. Arizona recognizes strict liability for defective products. That means you only need to show the product was defective and that the defect caused your injury. You can also file under negligence or breach of warranty theories depending on the facts of your case.
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