If You Bought a Product That Made You Sick: Speak With a Civil Litigation Attorney in Rapid City

As a civil litigation attorneys in Rapid City, we help clients to receive financial damages for something that happened to them.  It is important to make this distinction because most people don’t understand the difference between a criminal and civil case.  A criminal case is one filed by a prosecutor (sometimes called the “States Attorney” or the “District Attorney”) and if a person is convicted, they will face potential jail time and/or fines. On the other hand, a civil case is a non-criminal case filed by your attorney and seeks other relief, such as financial damages to compensate for your injuries, medical bills, lost wages, and pain, and suffering, etc.

If you were injured by a defective machine or product, you would want to speak with a civil attorney to see whether you can recover compensation for your injuries and damages.

A defective product claim is often one of three types:  a failure to properly design a product; a failure to properly manufacture a product; and a failure to properly warn or instruct about a product’s use.

As a civil litigation attorney, we need to determine whether the person’s injuries or death resulted from a defective design, defective manufacturing, or a failure to warn and instruct on the product’s use.  Sometimes the person’s injuries resulted from a combination of these causes.  We then identify who is responsible for these steps in the process so that we can include the proper party(ies) in the lawsuit. We can’t know for sure until we start investigating the product, the event which injured the person, and other circumstances surrounding the case. This is similar to how a detective needs to build a case when catching a criminal. It takes time and focus, but we are confident in our ability to clearly identify and pursue the parties at fault.

The best way to get started is to schedule a consultation to discuss the details of your case further.  As a civil litigation attorney in Rapid City, we can then advise you as to how to proceed.

How a Civil Litigation Attorney in Rapid City Can Help You

When one party has a dispute with another, a civil litigation attorney can file a lawsuit in court instead of criminal charges being filed.  For example, if a company is violating an environmental law, the government may want to pursue criminal charges where the community impacted by this may want to file for a civil lawsuit in order to get monetary compensation for their suffering.

Many people are unaware of when a civil case would apply so they seek justice through the criminal system alone.  That is an option some of the time but a prosecutor has to agree to try the case.  Many disputes or situations can be resolved through the civil court which at times, can be more gratifying simply because it allows the injured or damaged party to go after a cash verdict, rather than a strict criminal conviction.

Here are some of the types of cases where working with a civil litigation attorney in Rapid City can be helpful:

• Landlord/Tenant Law:  If one of the parties has violated their end of the agreement, it is typically related to finances and this is a way to recover damages.  For example, if a landlord didn't repair a building and as a result, you were injured or became sick – you could have a claim for damages.  Likewise, if a tenant stops paying their rent during the course of an agreement, the landlord can take the case to civil court in order to get a judgment and force them to pay.
• Environmental Law:  There have been many instances where companies have polluted a local environment.  Whether dumping waste into a river or burying toxic chemicals, this can have disastrous consequences for a local community.  People can become sick, wildlife endangered and the ground polluted.  Filing a civil lawsuit gives the residents of the area an opportunity to force the company to pay for the damage they have created.
• Construction Cases.  When you buy a new home, the hope is that it will be built correctly without any issues.  The challenge is that some builders can get sloppy when they have a lot of houses in the works.  In this scenario, many homeowners will have leaks, cracks in the walls, electrical problems, etc.  If you have tried to get the contractor to fix the problems and they haven’t done so, a civil case is your opportunity to make them pay to have the repairs completed along with anything else that was damaged as a result of their inferior work.
• Employment Law.  As a civil litigation attorney in Rapid City, we work with employees that have been wrongfully terminated, faced discrimination, or are having challenges with an injury case.

In order to determine whether or not your case has merit, we recommend scheduling a consultation.  We will discuss the case, go over the facts and details, and see whether or not it is wise to file for a civil lawsuit.  We provide excellent service and our goal is to be as informative as possible so feel free to ask questions during the meeting.