Lawyers like Alex Benedict, Esq. Fight against Defective Products

Should you be injured or suffer any damages due to a defective product, you can file a case against the manufacturers since, under product liability, they are responsible for producing or selling a defective product. While product liability lawsuits are among the most difficult personal injury claims to prove and win, you can be assured that your case is in good hands with reliable lawyers like Alex Benedict, Attorney at Law.

Elements of a Product Liability Claim

To prove that you have indeed been injured or had sustained serious damages due to a defective product, you must first establish the elements, which vary in every state. In California, a product liability claim is deemed valid if:

- The product was unreasonably hazardous,
- The claimant had sustained an injury or damage, and
- The defective product was the cause of his injury.

Like most states, however, California follows the strict liability rule, or the legal responsibility of a person (in this case, the manufacturers) for damages and injury, though the person found liable for the incident was negligent or simply not at fault. In other words, a claimant needs only to prove that the injury was caused by the defective product to establish a product liability claim. This is where a trusted attorney like Alex Benedict, Esq. comes in: it’s advisable to seek help from personal injury lawyers like him to prove and validate your claim.

Compensation for Product Liability Claims

Should you be able to prove your claim, you are entitled to compensatory damages for your injuries. Compensatory damages are usually divided into two: economic and non-economic losses, and it’s usually a sum of money deemed to be equivalent to the value of a person’s injury.

Economic losses, or monetary losses, are money and property lost or missed out on due to the injury and includes medical expenses, cost of disability, and loss of profits or wages. Non-economic losses, or general damages, meanwhile, are compensations to damages which are difficult to qualify, such as pain and suffering or loss of consortium.

Keep in mind, however, that under the statute of limitations laid out by the state, product liability claims are to be filed not later than a year after the injury. With that in mind, it will be best to seek help immediately from a personal injury lawyer.

Lawyer Alex Benedict on What You Have to Know About Getting a Divorce

Albert Einstein once said that gravity is not responsible for people falling in love. The genius sure is right because things that fall in with gravity do not fall out of it. One day you’re madly in love with each other, and the next, you ruin each other’s day simply by being in the same room. People fall out of love for many reasons, from such personality-driven causes as individual differences, lack of psychological and emotional maturity, and financial incapacity; to unexpected events like finding a new love in someone else’s arms.

As marriage is highly upheld and governed by law, however, ending your ties and responsibility to your spouse will not be as easy as when you do it with a non-marital partner. Divorce law is so complex that you would need competent family lawyers to guide you through it. Attorney Alex Benedict suggests you proceed with caution, as divorce is a life-changing decision.

Bear in mind that divorce can be traumatic to your children. No matter how tempting it is to catapult hurtful remarks against your spouse in the heat of discussion, remember that your words can have a lasting effect on them. Unless there’s a history of violence or neglect, your children will need to continue their relationship with your spouse, so as much as possible, refrain from bad-mouthing him/her. Psychology principles say that if you speak negatively against another person, the words that come out of your mouth sticks to their perception of you.

When it comes to child custody, the court, generally, will allow you to create your parenting schedule, with the help of lawyers like Alex L. Benedict, Esq. However, if you and your spouse can’t come to an agreement, the court will make the decision for the child’s welfare. Factors such as health, safety, and nature and length of contact with each of you will be considered. If you do request a move-away, you have to prove that it’s for the child’s best interest.

You should also consider the negative consequences of a full-blown court battle on your family’s assets—an equally important issue of dispute. Since California is a community property state, all properties (excluding those acquired by inheritance or bequest) such as your home, income, and other personal properties, as well as debts incurred during the marriage, will be divided equally between the two of you. Attorney Alex Benedict reminds that while you should be ready to go to Court if necessary to protect your interests, first consider an amicable and less costly out-of-court settlement.

Lawyer Alex Benedict Explains Why Some Car Accident Cases Take a While

It's impossible to put a number on the length of an average car accident litigation case. It could last for years, for all you know. This isn't just because the judicial system is swamped with a massive backlog or the fact that there are too many cases and too few judges to handle them. Rather, you can't put a number on how bad the accident is.

Lawyers like Alex Benedict do everything they can to keep the ball rolling, but there are some circumstances beyond their control. One example is the maximum medical improvement (MMI); lawyers can't just ask their injured clients to get well immediately. They must wait until he or she has fully recovered from her cuts and bruises to gauge the implications.

Even insurance companies play the waiting game before approving claims. For them, MMI must be achieved to help calculate the overall medical cost. Even if doctors tell their patients that the latter would be better in a few months, estimates aren't generally acceptable, especially when treatment is still ongoing. On top of that, MMI is subjective.

Speaking of insurance companies, their unwillingness to settle claims could also drag a case for long periods. They want to make sure that the injuries are bad enough to justify the amount being asked of them. As a result, lawyers must delve deeper into the facts of the case, which could certainly take a while. They have no reason not to pull out all the stops at this point.

If you don't like the long wait, you could always settle things off-court. As personal injury cases like car accidents are usually low priority among other civil cases, many judges would recommend off-court mediation. Both the plaintiff and defendant parties, including their lawyers, would meet outside the courtroom in hopes of reaching an amicable settlement.

An off-court settlement could take days at most, but it beats years of waiting in line at your local courthouse. You can trust lawyers like Alex Benedict to exhaust all options of settling personal injury cases if it means reaching an agreement. If an off-court settlement means a satisfactory end to a struggle that could take years otherwise, it's worth a shot.