Experts In This Article
- Michael T. Gibson, Esq., Lead Attorney & President at Michael T. Gibson, P.A., Auto Justice Attorney, Catastrophic Injuries Expert and Licensed for 17 years
- Todd Curtin Esq., Partner & Lead Trial Attorney at Michael T. Gibson, P.A., Auto Justice Attorney and Licensed for 8 years
- Amit Jhalli, Esq. Attorney at Michael T. Gibson, P.A., Auto Justice Attorney, Personal Injury Pre-suit Investigation & Brain Injury Expert and Licensed for 9 years
Last week the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued a government-sanctioned recall of the Samsung Galaxy Note7 smartphone. The recall comes after multiple reports of the phone catching on fire, with 26 incidents resulting in injuries. Samsung later addressed the issue, stating the cell phone manufacturer planned to replace the nearly one million defective smartphones in the U.S. If you have been impacted by this recall reach out to a personal injury lawyer to receive a consultation.
How do you know if your phone has a recall?
According to the CPSC, the recall applies to all Samsung Galaxy Note7 smartphones sold before September 15, 2016. However, if you are unsure if your Note7 is under recall, it is important to contact your place of purchase or your cell phone carrier and find out.
Immediate Steps to take for a Note7 Recall
Immediately after you find out your phone has been recalled, avoid using it again until you can exchange it for a safe version. Some retailers like Best Buy and Amazon have announced they are no longer selling the Note7. However, they offer full refunds or exchanges for a different phone to those whose Note7 phones were under recall.
Several mobile carriers are taking the same precautions.
- Verizon has suspended selling the Note7 and allows owners to return their Note7 or exchange it for a different device.
- Sprint has also suspended selling the Note7 and is offering owners a “similar device” until manufacturers resolve the issue.
- AT&T has suspended selling the Note7 and allowing owners to exchange it for a Galaxy S7, S7 Edge, or another similar smartphone. They are also offering refunds on all Galaxy Note7 products and a $25 credit to users’ next bill for the return of the phone.
- T-Mobile has suspended selling the Note7 and is allowing users to exchange the phone and accessories for a full refund, will waive restocking or shipping fees, and is allowing users to keep their Netflix subscription if they pre-ordered the device.
Common Injuries that Consumers Who Purchase Defective Products May Suffer
Product recalls are often necessary when consumers suffer injuries after using a product correctly. Recent reports show that Galaxy Note7 cellular phones had exploded on consumers or caught fire—even when the consumers properly used them. When this happens, consumers may suffer extremely serious injuries requiring ongoing medical treatment and rehabilitation.
Some of the most common injuries that result from exposure to an explosive Galaxy Note7 cellular phone include:
- Eye injuries. If a cellular device explodes when a consumer uses it, it can split into several pieces, some of which may enter the user’s eye. This can poke the user’s eye out or cause other serious eye damage, such as a corneal abrasion. Consequently, the user may experience limited vision in the affected eye—or lose their vision altogether in that eye.
- Burn injuries. When a cellular device explodes, it may catch fire, causing the user to suffer a burn injury. Serious burns destroy nerve endings, causing severe and often permanent damage. The consumer might need to undergo one or more surgeries to recover from a burn injury. They may also experience unsightly scarring in the affected areas, causing extreme shame, humiliation, or embarrassment.
- Cuts and abrasions. When a cellular device explodes or catches fire, the fragmented pieces may fly into the air, causing the user to suffer cuts and other abrasions. While some cuts require minimal medical treatment, deep cuts may require stitches and other invasive medical care.
What should I do if I sustained an injury due to my Galaxy Note7 exploding?
If you or a loved one has suffered an injury due to a Galaxy Note7 battery defect, you should first seek medical attention. Most reported injuries are burns, for which you can receive treatment at a local hospital emergency room or urgent care center.
The medical provider on duty can examine your burn injury and, if necessary, treat your injury while you are on site. If you require more invasive medical treatment for your burn injuries, such as surgery or other medical procedure, the ER doctor can make the necessary treatment recommendations.
You should also seek medical care after suffering your burn injury as soon as possible. This helps to ensure that your injury does not become worse.
When relatively minor burn injuries go untreated for a significant period, they can develop into much more serious injuries—or they may become infected. Moreover, if you fail to seek prompt medical treatment and later file a personal injury claim or lawsuit for monetary damages, the insurance company adjuster will probably become skeptical.
Adjusters typically assume that accident victims who wait too long to treat did not suffer serious injuries, to begin with. Consequently, the adjuster may refuse to offer you the full amount of monetary compensation you deserve to recover.
As soon as possible after seeking initial medical treatment for your burn injury, the next thing you need to do is contact an experienced product liability attorney. Your attorney will walk you through the steps and advise you of the evidence needed to build your case, such as past medical bills, proof of missed work, photos of your injuries, any damaged property, a photo of the phone after it exploded, etc.
What can a product liability attorney do for me?
An experienced product liability attorney can walk you through the legal process and help you obtain evidence to prove your case. In your lawsuit, your attorney will help you prove that the manufacturer of the defective phone was negligent, liable, and in breach of the warranty on the phone under Florida Statute 768.81. The manufacturer, retailer, and/or wholesaler may be liable for your injuries.
Depending on your case, you may be eligible to be compensated for the following damages:
- Past medical bills
- Future medical bills
- Pain and Suffering
- Loss of wages
- Diminished earning capacity
- Punitive damages
Filing a Product Liability Claim with the Manufacturer’s Insurance Company
To recover monetary compensation for a burn injury resulting from a product defect, you have the sole legal burden of proof in your case. First, you must demonstrate that the product manufacturer behaved negligently under the circumstances. This typically means that a defect occurred in the manufacturing or design process. You must also show that you suffered one or more injuries directly from the product defect—and that you were using the product correctly when you suffered your injuries.
When a company or governmental agency issues a recall on certain merchandise, they implicitly acknowledge that some type of defect exists. However, when it comes to your injuries, you will need to demonstrate that they directly resulted from the product malfunction.
In many cases, a medical expert can be extremely helpful when it comes time to establish this causal connection. A medical expert can state, to a reasonable degree of medical probability, that your injury directly resulted from the malfunctioning product. In addition, if you suffered a permanent burn injury, a medical provider can testify to that fact. A permanent injury is unlikely to improve—even after a long time passes.
A knowledgeable product liability attorney can also help you file a claim with the appropriate insurance company. The claims-filing process starts when your lawyer assembles all of your medical treatment records, medical bills, lost wage statements, injury photos, incident reports, and victim impact statements into a settlement demand package.
Your lawyer will then send this demand package and a settlement demand letter to the insurance company adjuster for the product manufacturer or distributor. Once the adjuster reviews all of this documentation, they might make you an offer to resolve your claim through settlement.
You should always be wary of initial settlement offers from insurance company adjusters. In most instances, these adjusters make low offers at the beginning to try and settle the claim as quickly and cheaply as possible. The insurance company hopes you are in a hurry to settle and will accept any offer, no matter how low.
An experienced legal team can negotiate with the insurance company on your behalf and pursue an increased settlement offer. If the insurance company refuses to compensate you reasonably for your injuries, your lawyer can file a lawsuit in the court system against the product manufacturer and seek damages in court.
You may have several legal options when litigating your product liability case. If you take your case to a jury trial, the jury will decide the amount of damages you are entitled to receive for your product-related injuries.
However, your case may go to binding arbitration as an alternative to a jury trial. A neutral, third-party arbitrator presides over the proceedings at a binding arbitration hearing. The arbitrator will listen to the evidence that the parties present and decide the amount of compensation to award the injured consumer.
Your attorney can explain your legal options in clear, easy-to-understand terms and help you decide on the best course of action for your product liability case.
Questions About The Samsung Galaxy Note7 Recall?
If you have questions about the Samsung Galaxy Note7 recall, contact an experienced products liability lawyer immediately. Product manufacturers have a legal responsibility to provide products that are safe and work in their intended manner. You want to hire an attorney that is dedicated to the rights of consumers who suffered an injury due to a defective product. Contact us to seek your free case evaluation with an attorney today.
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