Brian LaCien

Statistics from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission show that tens of millions of Americans suffer an injury related to a consumer product every year. A substantial number of these injuries are caused by a defect in the design or manufacture of the product. The Chicago injury lawyers at Smith LaCien LLP have the experience necessary to provide justice to victims of defective products.

Defective products range from faulty car parts to dangerous medical devices. Among the types of cases the firm has handled are the following:

• Plaintiffs who suffered serious injuries when a faulty Takata airbag exploded while they were in the front seat. A federal judge approved a $42 million settlement with automakers Volkswagen Group of America Inc. and Audi of America LLC to resolve litigation over the alleged use of defective Takata Corp. airbags. Chicago attorney Todd A. Smith of Smith LaCien LLP was the co-lead counsel for economic loss in the multidistrict litigation.
• The firm’s 74-year-old client suffered an adverse reaction to a pharmaceutical product to help control a heart arrhythmia. Instead, it resulted in near blindness. The company had warned doctors in Canada about that potential side effect years earlier but neglected to issue the same warning in the United States. Smith LaCien handles both individual and class action suits in the field of drug and medical product liability.
• A client who began vaping as a way to stop smoking and believed it was a safe alternative, developed a vaping-related injury so severe that he was relegated to a wheelchair. Further, his cognitive skills are diminished, leaving him confused and uncertain much of the time.
• Erroneous consumer product claims and marketing misrepresentation are other areas of concentration. The manufacturer of dangerous hair straightener products failed to warn consumers of the danger to their health.

The Chicago personal injury attorneys at Smith LaCien LLP have a lengthy track record of achieving exceptional results for clients, with more than $3 billion in verdicts and settlements and over 100 cases with results of at least $1 million each.

In addition to product and drug liability litigation, the firm’s areas of concentration include catastrophic injury, wrongful death, medical malpractice, birth injuries, brain injuries, aviation accidents and class actions.

The Chicago personal injury lawyers at Smith LaCien get justice by holding parties accountable and getting top-dollar compensation for victims and their families. They regularly go up against powerful insurance companies, big businesses, medical institutions and other parties that have caused serious harm due to their negligent actions.

Every case starts with a free, no-obligation consultation. Proving liability in a personal injury claim requires the plaintiff to prove with a preponderance of the evidence that the defendant was at fault for their injury due to an act of negligence, recklessness or intentional wrongdoing. A Smith LaCien lawyer will thoroughly investigate the circumstances of the incident and find evidence clearly demonstrating that the at-fault party owed the plaintiff and others a duty of care to take reasonable measures to prevent harm.

Personal injury cases are handled on a contingency fee basis, which means the plaintiff pays nothing if their case does not yield results.