Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP is a plaintiff’s personal injury law firm located in Los Angeles, California. Our trial lawyers focus solely on personal injury claims and are dedicated to protecting the rights of seriously injured people throughout Southern California.
In a country that runs on consumer goods, it’s no surprise that mistakes happen. There are federal laws in place to regulate the production and distribution of goods, but it’s not always enough to ensure the safety of the products that reach consumers’ hands. Thousands of unsuspecting buyers have suffered serious injuries, illnesses, and wrongful death because of defective products.
If you or a loved one has been injured because of a dangerous or defective product, come to the Los Angeles product liability attorneys at Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP for a free consultation. Give us a call at (310) 477-1700 or use our online contact form to reach out.
Our attorneys have been repeatedly recognized for excellence by other trial attorneys, legal organizations and publications nationwide. The firm has been ranked by U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers® as a “Tier 1” Firm for Plaintiffs Personal Injury Litigation – the highest ranking a firm can receive– and among the top 12 best Plaintiff’s law firms in the country by the National Law Journal.
Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP partners Brian Panish and Rahul Ravipudi have been named among the list of 2020 Plaintiffs’ Lawyer Trailblazers by the National Law Journal. The list recognizes 25 plaintiff lawyers from across the country who are agents of change and “have made significant marks on the practice, policy and technological advancements in their sector.”
Hiring a product liability attorney in Los Angeles county can be a tough decision and, undoubtedly, one that will have a considerable impact on the outcome of your case. Here are some important qualities you should look for in selecting the best attorney for you.
…in compensation for their damages. Senior Partner, Brian Panish, is recognized for obtaining the largest personal injury verdict in American history at the time, $4.9 billion jury verdict in Anderson v. GM. Additional landmark verdicts obtained by firm attorneys include a $58 million jury verdict for a construction accident, a $55 million jury verdict for a tire separation, a $41,864,102 jury verdict for an injured motorcyclist and many more multi-million dollar verdicts in personal injury cases.
While the trial value of a Los Angeles personal injury claim will likely eclipse the possible settlement value, reaching a speedy resolution in a settlement is beneficial to all parties. Our attorneys have the negotiating skills and legal acumen to maximize our clients’ recoveries at the settlement phase, and defense firms in the areas know our firm’s reputation for success with jury verdicts. This inherently encourages more amicable settlement negotiations with our clients.
They exist to make money and paying claims runs counter to their goals. When insurance companies attempt to lowball claimants or take advantage of unwary policyholders, our firm can hold them accountable and encourage fairer negotiations with our clients.
… for their record-setting jury verdicts and unwavering commitment to client recovery. Since our firm’s beginnings, we have secured substantial settlements for our clients in many different personal injury and product liability cases. Legal teams throughout California and the nation know our reputation for success, and our firm has earned the respect of our peers across the country.
… to thoroughly research the facts of every case we take. Our firm coordinates timely and efficient investigations for our clients’ claims so we can retain as much evidence as possible. Because most physical evidence deteriorates quickly, we make every effort to obtain and preserve as much evidence as possibly, as quickly as possible, in every case.
Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP operates under a contingency fee billing structure. This means a client does not pay any legal fees until we win his or her case. Our firm knows that after an accident, the last thing the average person wants to worry about is the cost of hiring an attorney. We offer transparent billing, so our clients know exactly what to expect from every case.
Missing a filing deadline or other requirement could have a case thrown out before it even approaches trial. The Los Angeles injury attorneys at Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP know how to meet the court’s strict filing requirements, so our clients can focus on recovery.
The Los Angeles injury lawyers at Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP have no fear of taking a case into court. Businesses and insurance companies in the area know our track record of landmark jury verdicts, so they take clients we represent very seriously. We put our reputation as trial-tested attorneys to work for the benefit of our clients.
Our attorneys know the various devastating effects an injury can have on your life and have experience with a wide variety of civil claims. We want our clients to thoroughly understand their options and to make informed decisions about their compensation. Our attorneys are committed to providing the best representation possible in every personal injury case.
… even opposing counsel in high-profile cases. We believe in professionalism and maximizing our clients’ compensation. Our reputation as a legal team of courteous, experienced professionals goes to work in every case we take.
Brian Panish, a top trial attorney in the nation, has secured some of the most substantial jury verdicts in United States history for plaintiffs. Among his courtroom successes is a record-breaking $4.9 billion verdict in the groundbreaking products liability case Anderson v. General Motors.
Additionally, he has achieved six verdicts surpassing $50 million, along with 32 verdicts and over 75 settlements exceeding $10 million in personal injury, wrongful death, and business litigation cases.
Adam Shea, a founding partner at Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP, is widely acknowledged as a top trial lawyer nationwide. With profound expertise, he has consistently achieved favorable outcomes for individuals and families in cases of catastrophic injury and wrongful death across various counties in Southern California, including Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, and Riverside.
Rahul Ravipudi, a partner at Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP, specializes in catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases throughout his legal career. His expertise encompasses accidents involving commercial vehicles, pedestrians, industrial or construction incidents, and hazardous public and private property conditions. With licenses in Nevada and California, Mr. Ravipudi is entrusted as leadership counsel in numerous significant plaintiffs’ personal injury lawsuits nationwide.
Product liability refers to holding a manufacturer or seller liable – or responsible – for placing a dangerous or defective product in the hands of consumers. The laws governing product liable are different than those of general personal injury law, so hiring a firm with experience in the area is key. There is no federal product liability law, therefore each state has there own set of consumer protections that cover negligence, strict liability, and breach of warranty of manufacturers and sellers.
In California, there are two main legal theories one can base a product liability lawsuit upon negligence and strict liability. A suit on the grounds of negligence requires the injured party, or plaintiff, to prove the defendant’s negligence in the creation or manufacture of the product in question. Negligence is any act or failure to act that causes the individual or company to breach its duties of care to consumers. For example, the company may have been negligent in its training procedures, manufacturing regulations, or safety protocols, resulting in a defective product.
Strict liability laws allow an injured party to sue for damages without having to prove the manufacturer’s negligence. Regardless of whether the defendant was negligent in the creation of the good, it will be liable for damages that a defective product causes if it has one of the three main types of defects: inherent design flaws, manufacturing errors, or marketing defects. Design flaws are mistakes the company makes in the design of the item, such as an electronic children’s toy that catches on fire when left out in the sun.
Manufacturing errors describe mistakes that make an otherwise safe item dangerous. For example, a swing that comes off of the assembly line missing a link. Manufacturing mistakes during any phase of the process can result in an unreasonably dangerous product. A marketing defect is a failure to warn of known hazards. If the company knows or reasonably should have known about a hazard the item poses, it has a duty to warn consumers. Failure to do so, resulting in consumer injury, is grounds for a strict liability lawsuit. Strict liability laws are in place to protect consumers from goods that are dangerous due to defects.
Marketing Defects – If the product was labeled improperly or does not contain adequate safety warnings or instructions it may have a marketing defect.
Design Defects – If something in the design of the product is dangerous or unsafe it may have a design defect.
Manufacturing Defects – If the product has a flaw or defect that is not in the design, but occurred during manufacturing or assembly, it may have a manufacturing defect.
If you suffered an injury due to a defective household appliance, consumer good, children’s toy, vehicle part, medical device, or medication, you are not alone. There have been thousands of lawsuits against manufacturers over the years because of defective and dangerous items hitting the shelves. You may have the right to take legal action against the party that manufactured or sold the product that caused your injuries. A Los Angeles personal injury attorney from our law firm can help you hold a product manufacturer responsible for your injuries.
When a dangerous product defect is present, the manufacturer or seller is and should be held responsible. In certain cases, it is up to the manufacturer to prove that they were not negligent in producing a defective product, in others – strict liability cases – proving negligence is not required, only that the product was defective.
Our firm’s attorneys have been recognized many times for their assertive, hard-hitting consumer work and for recovering significant damages. Of particular note is Brian Panish’s role as lead counsel in a 1999 product liability case against General Motors. Panish helped win $4.9 billion — the largest product liability verdict ever won in the United States — for two adults and four children who were injured by a defective fuel system in their Chevrolet Malibu. At trial, it was discovered that GM knew about the defects but had decided that it was cheaper to settle lawsuits than fix the problem. For his work on the case, Panish was recognized in 1999 as Trial Lawyer of the Year by the Consumer Attorneys of Los Angeles.
Another major product liability case handled by the firm’s attorneys was Lampe v. Continental Tire, in which a defective tire’s tread separated on the road, causing an accident that left a woman paraplegic. Adam Shea and Brian Panish won more than $55 million for the plaintiff — the largest tire-defect jury verdict in American history.
The firm’s Los Angeles product liability attorneys are consistently recognized for their work in consumer law, including several leadership roles in major nationwide consumer litigation, and repeated nominations for national lists of the nation’s biggest verdicts and most influential trial lawyers. Panish has won the American Jurisprudence Award in Product Liability, among other fields. They also represent clients in Orange County, Riverside, San Bernardino, and across Southern California.
Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP specializes in plaintiffs’ personal injury law in the Los Angeles area and throughout California. We help victims of defective products, fraud, car accidents, plane and helicopter crashes, wildfires, and more pursue their legal right to financial compensation.
It doesn’t matter who caused the injury or property damage – a large corporation, the government, or an individual – your Los Angeles personal injury attorney team will hold them accountable for their negligence and help win you fair compensation.
A personal injury case is based on personal injury law, which is a legal framework that provides a means for injury victims to recover compensation for their injuries and seek justice. Also referred to as Tort Law, personal injury law covers cases involving accidents, intentional acts such as sexual assault, defective products and defamation. Every Los Angeles personal injury claim has two core issues – liability and damages. Was someone liable for the injury or damages and what were the nature of the damages? Accident cases involve the concept of negligence. Negligence is a failure to exercise the care that a reasonable person would do in the circumstances relating to the accident. In order to establish negligence, four elements must be shown:
Duty is a legal obligation requiring that individuals or companies exercise a standard of reasonable care while performing actions that could harm others. This can encompass many things, such as a doctor providing care, or another motorist driving their car. The defendant does not have to know the plaintiff to owe them a duty.
Breach is a violation of that duty. The defendant breached that duty by failing to act as a “reasonably prudent person” should. In other words, the defendant should have known that their actions would likely cause injury to others.
Causation is the link between the breach of duty and the injury or harm suffered. For negligence to established, the injury must be a result of the breach.
Damages refer to actual injuries caused by the breach of duty.
At Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP, our Los Angeles personal injury lawyers handle all cases on a contingency fee basis. This means we never charge any fees unless we secure compensation on our client’s behalf – there are absolutely no out of pocket fees when we take a case. Once we are successful, we charge a percentage of the recovery.
While it’s not the only requirement, the injury needs to have been someone else’s fault, and caused by their negligence. Physically visible injuries are not necessary for a personal injury claim; attacks of defamation, emotional distress, or the expectation of harm would all be grounds for filing a personal injury lawsuit against that person. Another thing to consider is whether the injury created compensatory damages, such as medical expenses and bills or lost wages. If all of these things are true, then you have a personal injury case. It is recommended that you speak with one of our skilled Los Angeles injury lawyers immediately.
When the willful or negligent act of another person or entities cause someone to suffer an injury, that person may file a claim under personal injury law. Each state has different laws detailing what qualifies as a personal injury. For example, workers’ compensation covers any injury that occurs at work. To better determine whether your situation qualifies under California law, contact the Los Angeles accident lawyers at Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP to schedule a free consultation.
California is a comparative negligence state. Comparative negligence laws provide a means to divide fault and assign fault between all the parties involved. Under these laws, a plaintiff can be awarded damages even if their own negligence contributed to the accident. In a lawsuit, a plaintiff’s damages would be reduced based on their share of fault – for example, if you are found to be 25% at fault in a $100,000 settlement, you would receive $75,000. An example of this would be a drunk driving defendant proving negligence on the part of the plaintiff because they had a tail light out. California also follows the pure comparative fault rule, which means that even if the defendant is found to be 99 percent at fault, they can still collect on damages.
California law requires a victim to file a claim or lawsuit within a predetermined amount of time from the date of injury. This is known as a “statute of limitation” and it differs according to the type of injury. Here’s a breakdown of the maximum time frames you can file in Los Angeles, CA.
The value of a personal injury case varies based on the amount of damages the injuries you have incurred. Damages can be awarded for pain and suffering, mental anguish, loss of consortium, loss of earnings, loss of earning capacity, medical bills – both present and future, among others. In certain circumstances, courts may award punitive damages. Punitive damages are awarded when the wrongful behavior of the defendant was particularly reprehensible. Additionally, the Los Angeles personal injury law firm you choose can have a huge impact on the amount you recover. Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP is considered to be one of the top plaintiff’s law firms in the country and we regularly receive referrals from other personal injury lawyers because of our track record of getting very large settlements and verdicts.
Every personal injury case is different, some can settle very quickly while others may take years to complete. This often depends on the defendant you are dealing with. If you are dealing with an insurance company, they will often try to pay you as little as possible to resolve your claim and offer pennies on the dollar for what your case is actually worth. Other defendants, especially in defective product, dangerous drug and medical device cases, may need to go to trial to be settled. It is vitally important to work with a Los Angeles personal injury law firm that will not settle your case for less than it’s worth just to get a quick result. If a company is not dealing fairly with you, taking them to trial may be the only way to secure just compensation for the harm you have suffered. At Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP, our trial lawyers have significant experience taking cases to trial against large companies and winning. We have secured over $1 billion for our clients in the last 10 years and set records along the way.
If you are considering filing an injury claim, a personal injury attorney can make a significant difference in the outcome. Statistically, plaintiffs who hire an accident lawyer receive higher settlements than people who represent themselves. Our trial lawyers have the knowledge and experience to handle negotiations with insurance companies and if necessary, take your claim to trial. We are well known for our experience in the courtroom, our success rate, and high verdicts.
The Los Angeles Personal Injury lawyers at Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP handle many types of cases. If you don’t see the category for your type of case, please call us at (310) 477-1700 to speak with our trial lawyers and discuss your legal matter. Also serving Kern, Orange, Riverside, Santa Barbara, San Bernardino, San Diego and Ventura counties as well as Nevada and Arizona.
Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP is considered one of the top plaintiff’s law firms in the country and receives case referrals from all types of lawyers and law firms. We also joint venture on cases with attorneys who want to stay more actively involved in the litigation. Over $70 million referral fees in the last five years.
If you have a legal matter you would like to discuss with an attorney from our firm, please call us at (310) 477-1700 or complete and submit the e-mail form below, and we will get back to you.
