Knoxville Hot Tub Injury Lawyer
Heated swimming pools are only safe to use if all parts are working perfectly, and in perfect concert with each other. Even then, there are no safety guarantees. A few moments under the water could cause a permanent brain injury, especially if the victim is a small child. So, if you or a loved one was seriously injured in a hot tub, the issue could be a dangerous or defective product. A lack of owner care, such as a lack of supervision, an assembly issue, or a maintenance issue, could cause injury as well.
It’s not easy to build a solid injury claim from the ground up. So, an experienced Knoxville hot tub injury lawyer at Fox Farley Willis & Burnette, Attorneys at Law carefully identify the responsible party, collect evidence which supports your injury claim, and fight for you in court. We hit the ground running, but we don’t get ahead of ourselves. Our commitment to you includes connecting victims with doctors and helping them get through a very trying time in their lives.
Building an Injury Claim
Americans own over six million hot tubs, and that figure is expected to grow significantly over the next decade. The attraction of a heated swimming pool is too much for many people to pass up. That combination is also what makes hot tubs in Tennessee so dangerous, especially for children.
Manufacturers have a legal duty to sell safe swimming pool and other products which have no defects that could cause injuries. There are basically two categories of injury-causing product defects. Dangerous metal-on-metal (MoM) hip implants are a good example of both categories.
- Design Defect: A human hip is a cup-and-socket joint. A MoM artificial hip has all-metal parts. When these components sub against each other, tiny metal fragments flake off and enter the bloodstream. Over time, these fragments could cause metallosis, or metal poisoning.
- Manufacturing Defect: The cheap components many MoM hip implant manufacturers use often accelerate this process. Many of these parts come from overseas countries which have few or no consumer safety laws. As a result, these components often contain high levels of chromium, mercury, cadmium, and other dangerous heavy metals. Usually, producers are responsible for any defect that occurs anywhere in the manufacturing or shipping process.
This responsibility is usually strict liability. If a defective product caused injury, the manufacturer could be responsible for damages as a matter of law.
A different legal standard applies to hot tub owners. These individuals are liable for damages if they were negligent, and that negligence, or lack of care, substantially caused injury. The injury could have been caused by failure to properly use or store a chemical. Other premises liability injuries include falls on wet decks and swimming pool drownings. A child can drown in as little as a few inches of water.
What to Expect in a Negligence Case
Most negligence claims settle out of court. The informal settlement negotiation process usually begins when medical treatment ends. At that point, a Knoxville hot tub injury lawyer can accurately predict the amount of future medical expenses.
If all issues in the case are crystal-clear, the claim may settle almost immediately. But that usually doesn’t happen. Common insurance company defenses in premises liability cases include comparative fault and assumption of the risk.
To pressure the insurance company into settling, many attorneys file legal paperwork at this point. This filing usually triggers a legal mediation requirement. During mediation, each party has a legal duty to negotiate in good faith. They cannot simply go through the motions. Largely because of this additional responsibility, mediation usually works.
Contact a Savvy Knox County Lawyer
Injury victims are usually entitled to substantial compensation. For a free consultation with an experienced Knoxville hot tub injury lawyer, contact Fox Farley Willis & Burnette, Attorneys at Law by going online or calling 865-500-HURT. We routinely handle matters throughout the Volunteer State.
