Salt Lake City product liability lawyers at Parker & McConkie represent people injured by defective consumer goods, dangerous machinery, and unsafe vehicles across Salt Lake County and the Wasatch Front.
Our firm pursues claims under the Utah Product Liability Act against manufacturers, distributors, and retailers whose products caused harm.
A defective product rarely announces itself before someone gets hurt. By the time the airbag fails, the appliance catches fire, the medical device malfunctions, or the auto part separates on I-15, the injury is already done and the company may already be assessing potential liability exposure.
Our Salt Lake City product liability attorneys at Parker & McConkie advocate for injured consumers in claims against manufacturers, distributors, and other responsible parties.
Free consultations are available. Call our Salt Lake City office at 833-STANDUP, or visit 466 S. 500 E., Suite 100, Salt Lake City, UT 84102.
Why Choose Parker & McConkie for a Salt Lake City Product Liability Case?
Product liability cases sit at the intersection of physical evidence, engineering, and corporate document discovery.
Parker & McConkie has represented Utah product liability plaintiffs for many years and our Salt Lake City product liability lawyers appear in Third District Court and in the United States District Court for the District of Utah when federal jurisdiction or diversity applies.
Attorney-specific bar admissions and case histories appear on each lawyer’s bio.
These cases tend to involve multiple defendants in the chain of distribution, technical standards drawn from federal regulators, and corporate defense teams experienced in defending product claims.
Our team partners with engineers, biomechanical professionals, treating physicians, and industry consultants to assess how the product failed, why the failure caused the injury, and what the company knew before the product left the warehouse.
How Our Product Defect Team Approaches a Case
- We secure the product itself before any party has the chance to alter or discard it
- We pull manufacturer documents, recall histories, and prior complaint records
- We retain qualified engineers to test the product and identify the defect
- We track the chain of distribution from manufacturer to retailer to the injured person
- We develop cases with anticipated defense motions and expert challenges in mind
Early engineering analysis and document development may strengthen a plaintiff’s position during litigation or settlement discussions. Product liability claims often require substantial factual and technical development before meaningful settlement discussions occur.
What Counts as a Defective Product Under Utah Law?
A product is defective under Utah law when it was unreasonably dangerous to the user or consumer at the time the manufacturer or initial seller sold it.
Utah Code § 78B-6-703, part of the Utah Product Liability Act, sets that standard and creates a rebuttable presumption that a product is not defective if it complied with applicable government safety standards at the time of sale.
The injured person carries the burden of proving the defect, the unreasonable danger, and the causal link to the injury.
Three Categories of Product Defects
- Manufacturing defects, where one specific unit came off the line wrong even though the design was safe
- Design defects, where every product made to the design carries the same dangerous flaw
- Marketing or warning defects, where the product lacked adequate instructions or warnings about a known risk
Most Utah product liability cases turn on which category fits the facts because the proof shifts with the theory.
A manufacturing defect claim usually focuses on whether the product failed to meet the company’s own specifications, while a design defect claim often involves showing that a safer design was possible.
What Types of Salt Lake City Product Liability Cases Do We Handle?
Defective product claims reach across nearly every category of consumer good and industrial equipment.
Our Salt Lake City product liability lawyers represent people harmed by products in homes, vehicles, workplaces, hospitals, and recreational settings across northern Utah.
Common Defective Product Cases We Take On
- Auto parts, including airbags, seatbelts, tires, and steering components
- Medical devices such as hip implants, pacemakers, surgical mesh, and drug delivery systems
- Pharmaceuticals with undisclosed risks or inadequate warnings
- Industrial and construction equipment that injured workers on Salt Lake County job sites
- Consumer electronics and lithium battery products that ignited or exploded
- Children’s products, including car seats, cribs, and recalled toys
- Power tools, lawn equipment, and recreational vehicles with mechanical failures
- Household appliances that started fires or caused electrical injuries
The defendant in a product liability case is often a corporation with established legal representation and extensive product documentation that may require investigation.
Our firm works through that record to determine what information was available regarding the product’s safety and whether warnings or design modifications were implemented.
How Does a Utah Product Liability Claim Work?
A Utah product liability claim moves through preservation of the product, technical investigation, identification of every party in the chain of distribution, and either negotiated resolution or trial.
Timing and evidence preservation matter early because the product itself, the packaging, and any related materials often hold the key proof.
Preserving the Product and the Evidence
The defective item should not go back to the manufacturer, the retailer, or the trash. Photograph the product, retain receipts and packaging, and keep any related documents.
Defense experts inspect the product as part of discovery, and an injured person who no longer has the product faces a steeper proof burden.
Identifying the Chain of Liability
Liability under the Utah Product Liability Act may extend to the manufacturer, the wholesaler, the distributor, and the retailer.
Utah Code § 78B-6-705 also addresses post-sale alteration: when someone modified the product after the sale in a way that contributed substantially to the injury, that alteration may shift the fault analysis.
Our team traces the product’s path and identifies every party that owes a duty to the user.
Building the Technical Case
Engineering analysis often determines whether a case settles or stalls. Independent testing, comparison to industry standards, and review of the manufacturer’s internal records together establish whether the product met the safety expectations a reasonable user holds when buying it.
Federal data, including recalls and Consumer Product Safety Commission materials, may provide relevant evidence depending on the facts of the case.
What Damages May a Salt Lake City Product Liability Lawsuit Recover?
Utah law allows injured people to pursue both economic and non-economic damages in a product liability case, and the Utah Product Liability Act prohibits naming a specific dollar amount in the complaint under Utah Code § 78B-6-704.
The actual recovery depends on the severity of the injury, treatment costs, lost earning capacity, and how the failure changed daily life.
Damages That May Be Recoverable
- Past and future medical expenses, including surgery, rehabilitation, and ongoing care
- Lost income and reduced earning capacity
- Physical pain and suffering tied to the product failure
- Emotional distress and loss of life enjoyment
- Property damage to the product, the vehicle, or the home where the failure occurred
- Disfigurement and permanent disability damages in catastrophic cases
Punitive damages may be available under Utah Code § 78B-8-201 in narrow circumstances involving conduct beyond ordinary negligence, such as a manufacturer knowingly concealing a hazard from regulators. The standard for punitive damages in Utah is strict and requires elevated proof.
How Long Do I Have to File a Salt Lake City Product Liability Lawsuit?
Utah law generally allows two years to file a product liability lawsuit, measured from the date the injured person discovered, or in the exercise of due diligence should have discovered, both the harm and its cause. Utah Code § 78B-6-706 sets that deadline.
The discovery rule matters in product cases because some injuries appear long after exposure, particularly with pharmaceuticals and medical devices.
Deadlines and Timing Issues to Watch
- General product liability claim: 2 years from discovery of injury and cause under § 78B-6-706
- Wrongful death from a defective product: generally 2 years from the date of death
- Cases against government entities involving products: shorter notice requirements may apply
- Tolling for minors and certain incapacitated claimants: special rules may apply in narrow situations
Two years moves quickly when a product injury triggers months of medical workup before anyone connects the failure to the device. Calling a Salt Lake City product liability lawyer once the injury is identified protects the option to file and helps preserve the product itself.
FAQs for Salt Lake City Product Liability Lawyers
How long do I have to file a product liability claim in Utah?
Utah generally allows two years from the date you discovered, or reasonably should have discovered, both the injury and its cause under Utah Code § 78B-6-706.
Wrongful death from a defective product generally carries a two-year deadline from the date of death. Specific facts may alter the timing, so confirm the deadline that applies to your situation with a Utah attorney.
What kinds of cases do Salt Lake City product liability lawyers handle?
Our Salt Lake City product liability lawyers represent people injured by defective vehicles and auto parts, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, industrial machinery, consumer electronics, children’s products, and household appliances.
Each case category brings its own regulators, defense playbook, and evidence priorities.
What do I need to prove in a Utah product liability case?
A Utah product liability case generally requires proof that the product was unreasonably dangerous when sold, that the defect caused the injury, and that the injured person used the product in a foreseeable manner.
Compliance with applicable government safety standards creates a rebuttable presumption against defect under Utah Code § 78B-6-703, which the plaintiff may overcome with sufficient evidence.
What is my Salt Lake City product liability case worth?
Case value depends on the severity of the injury, total medical costs, lost earning capacity, the strength of the engineering analysis, and the conduct of the manufacturer.
Cases involving permanent injury or death tend to project larger losses than soft-tissue cases. A free consultation lets our team apply those factors to the facts. We do not predict or guarantee outcomes.
Can I bring a product liability case if I was using the product in an unusual way?
Sometimes yes. Utah law generally protects users who used a product in a foreseeable manner, even if the use was not the primary intended use.
Manufacturers have a duty to expect that people may misuse their products in ways that are reasonably predictable and to warn about the dangers that could result.
Whether your use qualifies as foreseeable is a fact-specific question worth running by a product liability attorney.
What does it cost to hire a Salt Lake City product liability lawyer?
Our firm handles product liability cases on a contingency basis, so attorney fees come due only if we recover compensation for you.
Litigation costs and expenses may apply regardless of outcome, and we explain the structure before any engagement begins. The first consultation is free, and the conversation does not commit you to hiring the firm.
The product was recalled after my injury. Does the recall help my case?
Often, yes. A recall may indicate that a manufacturer or regulator identified a potential safety issue associated with the product.
The recall does not automatically prove the product caused your injury, but it may provide relevant evidence concerning the product and potential safety issues.
What if I threw the product away after I got hurt?
The case becomes harder, not impossible. Photographs, receipts, packaging, and similar items may still anchor the claim.
Our team works with what remains, including medical records describing the failure, witness accounts, and recall data tied to the same model. The earlier you call, the more we may recover before evidence disappears.
Do I sue the store, the manufacturer, or both?
Often both, depending on the chain of distribution. The Utah Product Liability Act allows claims against multiple parties in the supply chain, and claims may involve more than one defendant depending on the chain of distribution and the underlying facts.
Our firm identifies which parties owed the duty, which insurers are involved, and where the strongest claim lives.
Hold the Manufacturer Accountable With Parker & McConkie’s Salt Lake City Product Liability Lawyers
Product liability litigation allows injured consumers to pursue compensation and seek accountability from companies that place defective or unreasonably dangerous products into the marketplace.
These cases may also prompt manufacturers to review product designs, safety procedures, and warning practices after serious injuries occur. Parker & McConkie represents individuals bringing product liability claims under Utah law.
To speak with a Salt Lake City product liability attorney at Parker & McConkie, call 833-STANDUP or visit 466 S. 500 E., Suite 100, Salt Lake City, UT 84102, for a free, confidential case evaluation.
Visit Our Personal Injury Law Office in Salt Lake City, UT
466 S. 500 E., Suite 100, Salt Lake City, UT 84102
Phone: (509) 374-3111
Opening Hours: 24 hours a day
