Here is what we believe should be done early in any product liability case, even before filing the lawsuit if the filing deadline and other circumstances allow:

Early and Thorough Preparation is Essential.

It is said of modern-day lawsuits that they are won not in trial but in the preparation for trial. This is true especially of product liability cases, for several reasons.
First, product liability suits are much more complex, expensive, and time-intensive than other types of lawsuits. Substantial work on the case must commence at the outset; waiting until a few months before trial may be too late to thoroughly prepare.
Second, product liability cases usually are vigorously defended. Manufacturers go to great lengths to defend their product, and early settlements are rare. This means a lawyer handling a product case has to exhaustively prepare the case as though it will be tried.
Third, most cases eventually do settle and are not tried. But a product case likely will not settle for what it is worth if the plaintiff’s lawyer has not prepared the case as though it will be tried.
Fourth, if a product case is tried, the verdict assuredly will be disappointing if the case was poorly prepared.

In short, hard work and preparation early in the case are essential to victory, whether in settlement or at trial.

Secure the Product.

Priority Number One at the outset of the case is to get the product and lock it away. If, for example, the product is a totaled vehicle, buy the salvage from the insurance company that insured the vehicle. Have the wreckage transported carefully to a covered garage or warehouse that you control. Lock the doors and tell no one where the vehicle is. If it later turns out that you don’t have a good case, then the salvage can be sold. But if you don’t get the vehicle and someone else does, then it may be gone forever. If you have no product, then you have no product liability lawsuit—plain and simple.
Incredible as it may seem, there have been instances where wrecked vehicles that were the subject of defective auto cases “mysteriously” disappeared, sometimes even from locked warehouses! Thus, the importance of sheltering the product in a secret place cannot be overstated.

Photograph the Scene Immediately.

Depending on the type of product case at issue, it may be essential to photograph the scene close to the time of the injury. For example, in a vehicle rollover case, one cannot take too many photos of the scene before the vehicle has been moved. Film is cheap, and one good photo is worth more than a thousand words of the best lawyer. Shoot far-away photos, close-up photos, photos from various angles, photos of gouge and skid marks on the pavement, photos of scattered debris, photos with reference points and measuring devices shown—photos of everything you can think of.

Obtain All Product Documentation.

Once the defective product is safeguarded from theft and tampering, and photos are taken of the product and site, the next task generally is to obtain all product documentation available. First, obtain all documents that show the history of the article, including the date of original sale and every seller in the chain of distribution, from the manufacturer to the final retail dealer. Determine whether the article was modified at any time after it left the manufacturer and, if so, all facts concerning the modification.

Get all written material that came with the product when it was sold. This includes all packaging, instruction manuals, warranty information, written warnings and disclaimers, foreign language versions, etc. Hunt down all source material about the product that shows a complete description of the product and its component parts, all sources for those parts, schematics of the product and components, technical papers, and so forth. Obtain all marketing information like pertinent website pages by all parties in the chain of distribution (you should print and bookmark the sites!), advertisements about the product, brochures, and displays.

Buy Exemplars, Before the Design is Changed.

Buy several new identical products for later testing and use at trial. Often, designs and product literature change or become unavailable by the time the case is tried. Buying exemplars at the beginning of a case may profit greatly later when the manufacturer claims that the original engineering drawings no longer exist as a result of a corporate destruction program. If you have exemplars, it may not matter that you cannot get the original plans.

Also, in a design defect case, you will have to show that a safer alternative design was feasible when your product was sold. So, if any competitor products employ the safer design then buy them for use in your case.