Partner
Mark J. Miller
Read Mark’s background and bring the questions you want answered about evidence, responsibility, and the claim process.
Read Mark’s bio →A product injury in Hollywood
Hollywood Product Liability Lawyer
The item may be back at the store, in a repair shop, or still at home. You may be dealing with treatment while someone asks you to return it. Miller & Jacobs can review the injury and those next decisions. Start with what you were using, what happened, and who has the product now.
Free consultation. No attorney fee unless we recover compensation.
Pompano Beach
Headquarters Serving Hollywood
50+ Years
Combined Legal Experience
230+
Combined Jury Trials
Free
Consultation About Your Next Steps
Care, identification, and the next handoff
Protect yourself, then make a clear record of the item.
A failure can be frightening even when you do not know why it happened. Get the care you need and stop using the suspect item. A legal review should not depend on a home test. Tell us what you saw, where the product is, and whether anyone has asked for it. Uncertainty is a reason to ask questions, not to fill the gaps with guesses.
Deal with the danger first
Seek medical care and explain how the injury occurred. For an active fire or other emergency, call 911. Follow emergency and official safety instructions. Do not recharge, switch on, dismantle, or move a hazardous item to prove what went wrong. Tell us about any safety step or disposal that was needed. Keeping people safe comes before keeping an object.
Identify this particular unit
If safe, save photos already taken and record the model, serial number, or batch code. Keep the order page, receipt, label, instructions, and messages. The listing may show a family of products rather than the exact unit. Write down who bought it, when it arrived, and whether it was new, used, rented, or supplied by someone else. Mark anything you cannot confirm.
Document a proposed handoff
Keep a return, repair, recall, or inspection request in writing. Ask who wants the item and what they propose to do with it. Discuss the evidence before a planned handoff when safety permits. An inspection can change the item. A refund can come with terms beyond a payment. If it has already left your control, note the date, recipient, and tracking or claim number.
The harm may come from a defect, poor upkeep, or the way the item was supplied. Our Hollywood personal injury team can review the overlap. If a hotel or other property controlled the item, the Hollywood premises guide explains the property questions. A product’s presence does not make its maker liable for every incident.
The recovery matters more than the object
You should not have to become a product expert while you are trying to heal.
You may be frustrated that a broken item is getting more attention than your injury. Or you may worry that throwing away a damaged part has ruined every option. Bring that concern to us. We can listen, identify what is still known, and explain what a review would need. Your account matters even when the evidence is incomplete. We will not ask you to recreate the failure at home.
Three defect questions
A broken product and a supported injury claim are different things.
A claim must connect a defect covered by law to the harm. We ask about the item’s condition, your use, and changes made before or after the incident. These cards describe common questions. They are not findings about your product. A technical account needs to fit what was seen and the medical record.
Manufacturing
Did this unit differ from the intended product?
A missing piece, failed joint, or wrong material may concern how one item or batch was made. The exact unit and its code can help distinguish it from other versions. Purchase and service records may matter too. A similar-looking replacement is not the same evidence as the item that caused the injury.
Design
Was the danger part of the product itself?
A design concern may affect many properly made units. We ask how the product worked, what users could reasonably expect, and how the claimed danger caused harm. Florida’s Supreme Court addressed the consumer-expectations approach to strict product liability in Aubin. That legal test still needs to fit the facts of your injury.
Warnings and instructions
What information reached the user?
Keep the warning, manual, box, and setup steps you received. Save online directions used at the time if you already have a copy. The review asks whether the warning was adequate and whether the claimed gap caused harm. A later warning does not, on its own, prove what was required when you were hurt.
Which businesses had a role?
We identify the maker, any relevant part supplier, and the businesses that sold or supplied the unit. The seller on an online order may differ from the brand on the box. Rental, assembly, and repair work can raise other questions. Each proposed party needs a link to a supported claim. Every name is not an automatic defendant.
Does strict liability mean an automatic win?
No. A strict liability theory can remove the need to prove that the maker was careless. It does not remove the need to prove a defect, legal cause, and the relevant party’s connection to the product. Other theories can have different requirements. We test the evidence against the applicable law before advising which claim may be supported.
Tell us about the next decision
Someone wants the item. What would that mean for the claim?
Bring the request, the return deadline, and any agreement you were sent. We can discuss what is known and what needs review before a planned handoff. Urgent safety instructions still come first. You do not need a finished expert report to make the first call.
Where the product is now
The Hollywood incident and the product’s location may be different.
A beach rental, hotel appliance, household purchase, or workplace tool can leave the injured person without control of the item. Start with the place, the unit, and the person who had it last. Records may be spread among a seller, property operator, repair shop, and insurer. Knowing who holds each part helps direct the inquiry.
A visitor, guest, or renter
Save the booking, rental agreement, incident-report details, and the name of the staff member who took the item. Record when it was replaced or removed, if you know. Tell us whether you have left Hollywood and where follow-up care is taking place. Your home address alone does not decide where a claim belongs. The location, parties, and governing rules need review.
A household or work item
For an online purchase, save the order and seller’s name as well as the brand. For work equipment, note the unit, employer, and supplier. Keep repair or training records you already have. A work injury may involve workers’ compensation and a claim against a third party. We check those roles and any legal limits together.
A recall is a safety resource, not a verdict. Check the exact model on the CPSC recall page and follow the notice’s safety instructions. SaferProducts.gov also provides a consumer-product reporting and search route. Save the notice or report you relied on. Neither a recall nor a similar report decides your injury claim. The absence of a recall does not establish that a product was safe.
The unit, the explanation, and the legal route
Build a claim around evidence that can be checked.
The account should fit the item, the records, and the injury. We ask what changed before it happened and who examined the product afterward. A repair history or a company’s reply may help. It should not replace a sound technical review. We check the legal dates while the other questions are being answered.
1
Locate the unit and the records
We begin with the event, the product’s identity, and who has it. Orders, photos, incident reports, and care records may help establish the sequence. Tell us about a return or disposal already completed. We assess the remaining proof and the dates that need prompt attention.
2
Plan a careful examination
When needed, a qualified expert can compare the claimed defect with wear, repairs, changes, and other causes. We discuss how the item can be examined and recorded. A test may change or use up a part. That work needs a plan. You should not have to show how the failure happened by trying it again yourself.
3
Match the cause to the harm
Medical and work records help show the effects caused by the incident. We assess the evidence, possible parties, defenses, and next legal step. An offer needs review of its release and deductions. A first consultation is a chance to clarify the path; it is not a promise that a claim will be accepted or paid.
The filing period and the product’s age both need review.
Florida’s filing statute gives four years for certain injury actions tied to a product’s design, manufacture, sale, or distribution. Negligence and wrongful death actions generally have two-year periods. We must check the type of claim and the dates together. Do not assume every product injury has the same deadline. A return request does not set the legal filing date.
Florida also sets a product-age limit for many items. It generally bars claims for harm from use more than 12 years after the first sale or lease to someone who was not reselling the item. There are exceptions. The type of product, its stated useful life, and the discovery rules need review. Your own purchase date may be later than that first sale. Ask early. A call or safety report does not automatically stop a filing deadline.
The injury, rather than the purchase price
Record what the harm has changed in your life.
A refund or replacement may address the sale without addressing your physical injury. The supported losses require their own review. Keep a fair account of care, work, and daily needs, including improvement as well as limits. Future needs should follow medical support and evidence of cost. The product’s price does not set a standard value for the injury.
Treatment and recovery
Keep care plans, bills, therapy advice, and receipts for needed help. Note where you were treated and any limits the care team placed on work or daily tasks. A fire or hot product may leave lasting needs. The Hollywood burn injury guide explains how to record those effects. Each person’s recovery still needs its own assessment.
Work and daily tasks
Save missed hours, earnings records, and written changes in duties. Explain the tasks you now need help with at home. Long-term needs may require a more complete plan, as discussed in our Hollywood serious injury guide. For a child, the child injury page explains family authority and settlement safeguards. A diagnosis alone does not prove future costs.
When an injury was fatal
A fatal product incident requires review of the estate, survivors, cause, and legal filing dates. Our wrongful death guide explains the separate claim route. Keep the product and event records alongside the death and estate documents when it is safe to do so. Do not assume every relative can recover every type of loss.
Meet the partners
The people behind Miller & Jacobs
Mark Miller and Rick Jacobs are partners in the firm. We serve Hollywood injury clients from our Pompano Beach headquarters. Read their backgrounds and ask how the product, medical evidence, and next decisions would be assessed in your circumstances.
Partner
Rick S. Jacobs
Read Rick’s background and ask what records and technical review may be needed to evaluate your concern.
Read Rick’s bio →Decisions before the investigation is complete
Ask about the question you face today.
These answers cover common concerns about the item, safety notices, and a first review. Your particular product, use, injuries, and dates still need assessment.
The seller offered a refund and wants the item back. What should I keep?
Keep the offer, return steps, any agreement, and the messages that came with it. Record the item’s identity and location if safe. A refund does not, by itself, settle an injury claim. Ask about a planned handoff and any release. Follow urgent safety instructions. Do not keep a dangerous item at the expense of someone’s safety.
The product belonged to a hotel or rental business. Can I still ask for help?
Yes. Name the business, unit, and place of the injury. Tell us who took or replaced the item. Keep the booking or rental record and any report number. A defect, poor upkeep, and a property issue can overlap. We check which facts and legal duties support each route. You do not have to own an item to ask about an injury it caused.
The company says my use or a repair caused the failure. What happens next?
Keep the response and describe your use, upkeep, and repairs honestly. The company’s claim does not decide your fault. Under Florida law, fault can reduce an award. In covered actions, a person found more than 50 percent at fault for their own harm cannot recover damages. We review the evidence and which rules apply before advising what that means for your case.
A recall has been issued. Does that prove my injury claim?
No. Check whether the notice covers the exact model, batch, and hazard involved, and follow its safety instructions. Keep the notice and your response to it. A recall can help identify an issue, but it does not establish that the defect caused your injury or decide who owes damages. The claim still requires its own evidence.
Should I switch the item on or take it apart to show what went wrong?
Do not create a new risk or perform a home test for a legal review. Describe what you observed and save existing photos, messages, and labels if safe. Technical examination can be planned when appropriate. Tell us where the item is and about any emergency step already taken. The first call does not require you to demonstrate the failure.
The item was returned or discarded before I called. Is a review still possible?
Tell us when, why, and to whom it went. Keep the return receipt, repair order, tracking number, photos, and messages. Missing the item can make proof much harder, but the other evidence should still be assessed. We cannot promise that those records will be enough. Do not replace uncertainty with a guess about what the product looked like or why it failed.
Related Hollywood guidance: personal injury, burn injuries, and child injuries.