Harbor Freight has recently encountered many issues with a popular product sold in their stores – their jack stands. Earlier this year, in May 2020 specifically, Harbor Freight issued a recall for their Heavy Duty Steel Jack Stands. They offered replacement stands, the Pittsburgh 3-ton, 6-ton, and 12-ton, after the initial recall. Unfortunately, the replacement stands have also been found to be defective.
Specifically, some of the replacement jack stands have a welding defect that could potentially result in the jack stand splitting and collapsing. This recall affects approximately 454,000 of the Pittsburgh Automotive 3-ton and 6-ton Heavy-Duty Steel Jack Stands – which are associated with part numbers 61196, 61197, and 56371. Specifically, the 3-ton recalled jack stands include part number 56371 and 61196, while the 6-ton recalled jack stands include part number 61197.
According to the National highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the ratchet teeth on the jack stands can fail to sufficiently engage the pawl to an adequate depth, which can potentially cause the stand to fail under a load.
The notice published by Harbor Freight states the following:
“There is a potential, while under load and with a shift in weight, for the pawl to disengage from the extension lifting post, allowing the stand to drop suddenly. The condition could cause serious injury for people near or under a lifted vehicle, and/or damage to property.”
Affected consumers are being urged to stop using the products and return the product to their local Harbor Freight Tools store for a refund in the form of a store refund (for the original retail price of the product).
Have you been affected by the recall? Has the defective jack stand caused an incident with injured you or a member of your family? If so, you might have grounds to pursue a claim. Specifically, you might have grounds to file a product liability claim.
Would you like to learn more about your right to pursue a product liability claim for the harm resulting from a defective jack stand? If so, do not hesitate to seek legal assistance with the experts at our firm as soon as possible. The lawyers at Normandie Law Firm are ready to evaluate your claim and provide you with the guidance that you need to reach a successful claim outcome.
Normandie Law Firm is a personal injury law firm with experience handling all sorts of injury claims, including product liability claims. Our product liability lawyers are ready to provide you with the guidance that you need to hold the liable party or entity accountable for the harm that you or a member of your family suffered. If you would like to discuss your right to sue with the experts at out firm, contact us today.
Understanding the Risk of Harm
As explained above, the defective jack stands can collapse under weight. This means that whatever vehicle being held up by the jack stands can suddenly drop; this can potentially injure any individual who is completely or partially under the vehicle. Without a doubt, these injuries can be devastating. Victims could suffer devastating crushing injuries and entrapment injuries, for example. Regardless of the resulting injuries, it is likely for the incident to be fatal. If the victim survives the incident, it is likely that he or she will be left suffering from debilitating, life-long injuries.
About Product Liability – You Could Sue
Can you sue for the harm that you or a member of your family suffer as a result of a defective jack stand? Based on the details surrounding your specific situation, you might have grounds to sue. Specifically, you might have grounds to sue based on the concept of product liability.
What is product liability? Based on the concept of product liability, manufacturing companies owe their consumers a duty of care. Specifically, these companies have a duty to ensure that their products are completely safe for their consumers to use. They must test their products repeatedly and inspect their products thoroughly to be able to identify any potential hazards before making the product available to the public. When companies fail to ensure the safety of their products, they are breaching their duty of care. Their breached duty of care results in releasing defective products to consumers. This can put consumers at risk of suffering harm. If a breached duty of care (represented by a defect in labeling, design, or manufacturing of the product) directly leads to an incident that causes harm, the company could be liable – after all, the consumer would not have suffered any harm if the company would have ensured that the product was safe to use before making it available to the public.
What does this mean? If you or a member of your family suffered harm associated with a defective product, you might have grounds to sue. Specifically, you might have grounds to file a product liability claim. If you are interested in learning more about product liability and your right to sue, do not hesitate to seek legal assistance with the experts at our firm as soon as possible.
What Should Affected Consumers Do?
Were you or a member of your family harmed because of a defective product? After a jack stand incident, it could be difficult for affected parties to think clearly – without a doubt, it can be a difficult time for all parties involved. What should you do? Consider some of the recommendations listed below:
- Take photos of all injuries suffered
- Take photos of the entire scene of the accident
- Take photos of the defective product
- Seek medical care for the harm resulting from the incident
- Contact the company to report the incident caused by the defective product and the harm suffered
- Do not agree to a free replacement or a free repair
- Do not agree to a refund
- Do not agree to return the defective product under any circumstance (the defective product will be your primary piece of evidence)
- Speak to any witnesses available (collect their contact information)
- Collect all medical records
- Collect any records of property damage
- Collect records of lost income
- Seek legal assistance as soon as possible
If you would like to learn more about the importance of following the steps listed above, simply contact the experts at our firm as soon as possible. Our lawyers are ready to guide you every step of the way.
You Could Recover Compensation for the Harm Suffered
If you pursue a claim after being harmed by a defective product, you could be eligible to recover compensation after reaching a successful claim outcome. Could you really be eligible to recover compensation? Based on the details surrounding your claim, you could be eligible to recover compensation for some of the following:
- Medical expenses
- Lost income
- Pain and suffering
- Property damage
- Funeral and burial expenses
- Loss of consortium
- Punitive damages
Are you interested in learning more about your right to recover compensation for the harm that you or a member of your family suffered? If so, do not hesitate to seek legal assistance with the experts at our firm as soon as possible. The knowledgeable product liability lawyers at our firm are ready to aggressively fight for your right to recover the highest amount of compensation available for your claim. Whether our lawyers must negotiate a settlement or take your claim to trial to reach a fair verdict, you can trust that they will not rest until you recover what you are owed.
How Long Do You Have to File Your Claim?
As explained above, you might have grounds to pursue a product liability claim for the harm that you or a member of your family suffered due to a defective jack stand. However, affected parties could unfortunately lose their right to sue if they fail to file their claims on time. All claims are subject to a statute of limitations – a statute of limitations determines the specific length of time that affected parties have to pursue their claims. This means that claimants must file within the appropriate deadline; if claimants do not file on time, they could lose their right to sue.
How long do you have to file your product liability claim? In California, product liability claims are normally subject to a two-year statute of limitations. Although this deadline applies, the deadline could be tolled under some circumstances. More specifically, exceptions could apply to the applicable statute of limitations based on the details surrounding your claim. If an exception applies, the statute of limitations could be tolled or paused for some time. To ensure that you have a thorough understanding of the total length of time that you have to pursue your claim, do not hesitate to seek legal assistance with the experts at our firm as soon as possible.
Is there a Class Action Lawsuit?
Can I file a class action lawsuit? How can I join or be a part of a class action lawsuit on this case? If the defective product harmed many parties, then it is likely that there is a class action claim in which you could participate. A class action lawyer can help you figure out how to join the specific class action lawsuit. In some cases, there might be mass torts rather than a class action lawsuit – mass torts are single claims against the same company. For more information about how to proceed with your claim, do not hesitate to contact our recall lawyers as soon as possible.
Contact Normandie Law Firm Today
Were you or a member of your family harmed by a defective product? If so, you might have grounds to pursue a product liability claim. If you are interested in learning more about you right to file a product liability claim, do not hesitate to seek legal assistance with the experts at our firm as soon as possible. At Normandie Law Firm, our lawyers have many years of experience handling all sorts of claims, including product liability claims. Our defective product attorneys are ready to fight for your rights as a consumer and help you recover the highest amount of compensation available for your claim. Would you like to discuss your right to sue with an expert in handling product liability cases? If so, contact our firm today.
At Normandie Law Firm, we understand that it could be difficult for affected parties to access the legal assistance that they need to reach a successful claim outcome. Therefore, we offer free legal services. Our free legal services include free consultations and free second opinions, which allow affected parties to access all the information that they need to either begin or redirect their product liability claims. During you free consultations and free second opinions, you can trust that our lawyers will answer all your questions and address all your concerns. Would you like to benefit from our free legal services? If so, contact our firm today.
Our Zero-Fee guarantee and our contingency structure also makes things easier for affected consumers. Our Zero-Fee guarantee ensures that our clients will never be required to pay any upfront legal fees for any of our legal services. Because of our strict contingency structure, our clients will never be responsible for paying anything until after reaching a successful claim outcome; this means that you will not have to pay anything if you do not win.
Are you ready to discuss your claim with the experts at our firm? If so, contact Normandie Law Firm as soon as possible.
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