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When a product fails and injures you, the company that designed, manufactured, or sold it is responsible.
Defective products cause serious injuries every day in Midvale and across Salt Lake County, and the companies behind them have legal teams ready to defend against claims the moment an injury is reported.
Waddoups Law Personal Injury Attorneys goes up against those corporate defendants, builds the evidence record that manufacturers do not want discovered, and holds them fully accountable for the harm they caused.
We represent injured Midvale residents in product liability claims against manufacturers, distributors, and retailers across all product categories. Our product liability lawyers, whom Midvale clients trust, know that corporations move fast to protect themselves after a defective product causes injury, and we move faster.
Call Waddoups Law Personal Injury Attorneys for a free consultation today. No fee unless we win.
Product liability claims are fundamentally different from standard negligence cases. In a car accident, you prove the other driver failed to exercise reasonable care. In a product liability case, the focus shifts to the product itself, whether it was defectively designed, defectively manufactured, or sold without adequate warnings.
That shift changes how evidence is gathered, which experts are involved, and how the case is argued.
Our product liability lawyers, whom Midvale clients trust, know that corporate defendants in these cases move fast.
They send their own investigators, preserve the evidence that helps them, and sometimes modify or recall the product before the injured person has retained legal help.
After we’re retained, we immediately preserve the defective product, document its condition, and begin the expert analysis that forms the foundation of every successful product liability claim.
Product liability claims in Midvale are governed by Utah statutes and common-law principles developed over decades of Utah court decisions. Understanding which legal theory applies to your case determines how we build and argue it.
Strict Liability Under Utah Law
Utah follows the strict product liability doctrine established in the Restatement (Second) of Torts Section 402A, which Utah courts have adopted.
Under strict liability, an injured Midvale resident need not prove that the manufacturer was careless. They need to prove the product was unreasonably dangerous when it left the manufacturer’s control and that the defect caused the injury.
Utah’s strict liability framework is codified in the Utah Product Liability Act, Utah Code 78B-6-701 et seq., which defines injured consumers’ rights against product sellers and manufacturers.
Strict liability removes the burden of proving corporate negligence, which is often impossible for injured individuals without access to internal design documents, test records, and manufacturing quality-control data. We obtain that evidence through the legal discovery process.
Negligence and Breach of Warranty Claims
Alongside strict liability, Midvale can pursue negligence-based product liability claims when a manufacturer or retailer fails to exercise reasonable care in designing, producing, or selling a product.
Breach of express or implied warranty claims are also available when a product fails to perform as represented or fails to meet the minimum safety standards implied by its sale.
Utah Code 78B-2-307 sets a four-year deadline for most product liability claims. When the defect was not discoverable at the time of injury, the discovery rule may extend that window. We identify the applicable deadline at the start of every Midvale product liability case.
Comparative Fault in Product Liability Cases
Utah’s comparative fault law under Utah Code 78B-5-818 applies in product liability cases. Manufacturers frequently argue that the injured person misused the product or ignored warnings, attempting to assign partial fault to reduce their liability exposure.
We challenge every unsupported misuse argument with expert analysis of how the product was actually used and what the manufacturer’s own testing data shows about foreseeable use.
Every successful product liability claim in Midvale rests on proving one of three types of defect. Identifying the correct defect category at the start of the case determines which evidence we pursue and which experts we retain.
Design Defects
A design defect exists when the product’s blueprint itself is dangerous, meaning every unit produced from that design carries the same risk. Design defect claims in Midvale target the manufacturer’s engineering and product development decisions rather than a production error.
These cases require engineering experts who can demonstrate that a safer alternative design existed, was feasible, and would have prevented the injury.
Design defect cases often produce the largest recoveries in product liability law because they implicate the entire product line rather than a single defective unit.
When a Midvale product liability claim involves a design defect, the manufacturer’s internal design review documents, safety testing records, and prior complaint history are all critical evidence we pursue through discovery.
Manufacturing Defects
A manufacturing defect occurs when an individual product departs from the intended design during production.
The blueprint may be safe, but something went wrong in the factory, the materials used were substandard, or quality control failed to catch the error before the product reached the consumer.
Manufacturing defect cases in Midvale require expert analysis of the specific unit that caused the injury compared to properly manufactured units of the same product.
We send preservation letters to manufacturers and retailers immediately after being retained to prevent the destruction or modification of the defective product. That physical evidence is irreplaceable, and losing it can significantly weaken a claim based on a manufacturing defect.
Failure to Warn Defects
A failure-to-warn defect exists when a product poses risks that are not obvious to the average consumer and the manufacturer fails to provide adequate instructions or warnings about those risks. Even a well-designed and properly manufactured product can create liability if its dangers are not communicated clearly.
Pharmaceutical products, industrial chemicals, power tools, and household appliances are among the most common sources of failure-to-warn claims we handle in Midvale.
Failure-to-warn cases require evidence of what the manufacturer knew about the product’s risks, when they knew it, and which warnings they chose to include or omit. We obtain that evidence through internal communications, regulatory filings, and the manufacturer’s own risk assessment documentation.
Product liability claims in Midvale arise from virtually every product category. Our legal team handles defective product cases across all of the following categories and more.
Defective product injuries in Midvale range from minor lacerations to catastrophic and permanent harm. The severity of the injury and its long-term impact on the victim’s life are central to how we document and value every product liability claim.
Burn and Electrical Injuries
Defective lithium batteries, faulty electrical appliances, and flammable consumer products cause burn injuries that require emergency care, multiple surgeries, and extended rehabilitation.
These cases often involve both product liability claims against the manufacturer and premises liability claims if a Midvale retailer sold the defective product after receiving prior complaints or recall notices.
Traumatic and Orthopedic Injuries
Defective motor vehicles, power tools, and industrial equipment produce traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord damage, fractures, and amputations that permanently alter the victim’s ability to work and live independently.
We work with trauma specialists, neurologists, and life care planners to build a complete picture of future damages for every catastrophic product liability case from Midvale.
Toxic Exposure and Long-Term Health Conditions
Defective pharmaceutical products, toxic building materials, and hazardous consumer chemicals cause injuries that develop over months or years rather than instantly.
These latent injury cases require expert medical testimony establishing the causal link between product exposure and the diagnosed health condition, and the discovery rule under Utah law may extend the filing deadline.
Product liability victims in Midvale can recover significant compensation under Utah law when a defective product causes serious injury. We document every category of recoverable damage from the moment we are retained.
Economic Damages
Medical expenses, including emergency care, surgery, hospitalization, rehabilitation, specialist treatment, and all future medical costs directly related to the defective-product injury, are fully recoverable. Lost wages and reduced earning capacity are documented using pay stubs, tax records, employer letters, and vocational expert testimony.
Non-Economic Damages
Pain and suffering, emotional distress, disfigurement, and loss of enjoyment of life are recoverable under Utah Code 78B-5-710 through 78B-5-714 with no statutory cap for most personal injury cases in Utah. Permanent disfigurement from defective product injuries is among the most significant non-economic loss categories we document for Midvale clients.
Punitive Damages
When a manufacturer or retailer knew about a product defect and concealed it from consumers rather than issuing a recall or warning, punitive damages may be available under Utah law. Punitive damages punish corporate misconduct and deter future dangerous product decisions. We assess the basis for punitive damages in every Midvale product liability case from the start.
Wrongful Death Damages
When a defective product causes a fatality in Midvale, surviving family members can pursue a wrongful death claim under the Utah Wrongful Death Act. Recoverable damages include lost financial support, loss of companionship, and funeral expenses. The statute of limitations for wrongful death is two years from the date of death.
Most personal injury firms handle product liability cases as an extension of their standard negligence practice.
Product liability cases against corporate manufacturers require a fundamentally different approach, and that difference is what determines whether an injured Midvale resident recovers full compensation or settles for a fraction of what their case is worth.
We Preserve the Defective Product Before It Disappears
The defective product is the most critical piece of evidence in every Midvale product liability case, and it often disappears first.
Manufacturers send their own investigators to retrieve, test, and sometimes destroy or modify defective units. We send formal evidence-preservation letters to manufacturers, retailers, and distributors on the same day we are retained and advise every client to secure the product immediately.
We Retain Engineering and Technical Experts Early
Product defect cases are won and lost on expert testimony. Generic personal injury firms retain experts after settlement negotiations fail.
Our product liability lawyers Midvale clients trust retain engineering experts, materials scientists, and product safety specialists at the start of every case so the technical foundation of the claim is established before the first demand letter is sent.
We Investigate the Full Distribution Chain
In most Midvale product liability cases, more than one party bears responsibility. The designer, the manufacturer, the component supplier, the importer, and the retailer can all share liability depending on where the defect originated and how the product moved through the supply chain.
We investigate the entire distribution chain in every case and pursue all responsible parties simultaneously.
We Know How to Handle Corporate Discovery
Obtaining the internal documents that prove a manufacturer knew about a defect requires aggressive, targeted discovery. Internal testing records, customer complaint logs, regulatory communications, and engineering change orders can reveal corporate knowledge of danger. We know how to identify, request, and compel production of those documents in Utah civil proceedings.
When a defective product has injured you or a family member, you need attorneys who understand how to take on corporate manufacturers with significant legal resources and a strong financial incentive to minimize your claim. Here is what our firm brings to every Midvale product liability case.
Founding Attorney George T. Waddoups Handles Midvale Product Liability Cases
Waddoups Law Personal Injury Attorneys is led by George T. Waddoups, a Utah personal injury attorney who has taken on manufacturers, distributors, and retailers in defective product cases throughout his four-decade career in Utah courts.
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George regularly appears before Salt Lake County District Court and has handled serious personal injury cases throughout Midvale and across Utah for over four decades. His record of seven- and eight-figure settlements reflects his commitment to holding negligent parties fully accountable.
If you or someone in your family has been injured by a defective product in Midvale or anywhere in Salt Lake County, Waddoups Law Personal Injury Attorneys is ready to help.
We review your case, identify the defect theory that applies, and tell you honestly what your claim is worth against the manufacturer, distributor, or retailer responsible for your injury.
Corporate manufacturers move fast to protect themselves after a product causes injury.
The sooner you contact our Midvale product liability lawyers, the sooner we can preserve the defective product, secure the corporate records that prove liability, and build the strongest possible case on your behalf.
No upfront fees, no obligation, and you pay nothing unless we win. Call Waddoups Law Personal Injury Attorneys today for a free consultation.
If a product you used as intended caused an injury that would not have occurred if the product had been safe, you likely have a product liability claim. The key questions are whether the product was defectively designed, defectively manufactured, or sold without adequate warnings, and whether that defect caused your injury.
Yes. A product recall shows the manufacturer knew about the defect and acknowledged the danger. If you were injured by a recalled product in Midvale, the recall strengthens your claim significantly.
The absence of the defective product weakens but does not eliminate a product liability claim. Medical records documenting the injury, photographs taken at the time, and witness accounts can, in some cases, serve as substitutes for the physical product.
Yes. Utah courts have jurisdiction over product liability claims against out-of-state and national manufacturers when the product was sold or caused injury in Utah. The manufacturer’s size does not reduce your legal rights. Our legal team has the expert network and litigation experience to take on corporate defendants of any size. Call us today for a free consultation.
When a defective product injures multiple people, class action or mass tort litigation may be available in addition to individual claims. We assess whether your Midvale product liability case is part of a broader pattern of injuries from the same product and advise on the best litigation strategy to maximize your recovery.
You do not need to be the original purchaser of a defective product to file a product liability claim in Utah. If the product injured you during normal use, your legal rights against the manufacturer exist regardless of how you obtained it. Call our legal team today, and we will assess every applicable theory of recovery for your situation.
Product modifications can complicate a liability claim but do not automatically bar recovery. If the modification was foreseeable or if the original defect would have caused injury regardless of the modification, the manufacturer may still bear full or partial liability. We analyze the modification and the original defect independently to identify every viable recovery path.
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George T. Waddoups has practiced law since 1982 and is experienced in personal injury and wrongful death, with over $300 million recovered for clients. He is nominated as a Super Lawyer and a member of The National Trial Lawyers Top 100. George is committed to community service and enjoys time with his five children.
Riley T. Waddoups, a personal injury attorney with 20 years of experience, represents clients across Utah in cases like wrongful death, truck accidents, and slip and falls. He is skilled in mediation, arbitration, and trial. Riley values family and has developed strong relationships with many clients over the years.
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