Legal Guides
Documenting a Product Injury Claim: What to Keep, and Where to Report It
Practical steps for documenting a product-related injury: preserving the product and packaging, collecting medical and purchase records, and filing reports with the FDA and CPSC that create an independent record.
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Product liability cases are decided on documents, and the documents are easiest to collect in the days after an injury rather than months later. This guide covers what to preserve, what to report, and where the agencies’ own systems fit in. It is about creating a reliable record; it is not advice on whether you have a claim, and it does not tell you what to file.
One point up front: you can report an injury to the FDA or the CPSC regardless of whether you ever sue anyone. Those reports go into public agency databases, and manufacturers are notified. Filing one does not commit you to anything.
1. Preserve the product, the packaging and the batch
The physical item is often the single most contested piece of evidence in a product case, and it is routinely thrown away.
- Keep the product, even if it looks useless. Do not repair, clean or disassemble it before it has been photographed and, if a claim is possible, examined.
- Keep the packaging and the inserts. Labels, lot numbers, expiry dates, batch codes and instructions are how a specific unit is tied to a manufacturing run.
- Photograph everything, in place, before you move it. Include the product, the packaging from every side, the lot and expiry printing, and the scene where the injury happened. Keep the original files with their timestamps.
- Write down what happened while it is fresh. Date, time, location, what you did, who else was present, and what you noticed first. A contemporaneous note carries more weight than a reconstruction a year later.
If the product is a medicine, supplement or medical device, note the exact name, strength, dosage form, lot number and manufacturer exactly as printed, and keep the container.
2. Collect the medical record
- Ask the treating provider for the records, not just the discharge summary: imaging, operative notes, laboratory results and the medication administration record.
- Keep bills, explanation-of-benefits statements and receipts for out-of-pocket costs such as travel to treatment or home modifications.
- If a health professional links the injury to the product, that opinion belongs in the record. Ask for it to be documented, and keep the name and speciality of the person who made it.
- If you are relying on lost earnings, keep the wage statements or a letter from the employer.
3. Report it to the agency that regulates the product
Agency reports create an independent, dated record that exists outside your own files, and they are how regulators learn that a hazard is real.
| Product | Where to report | What it produces |
|---|---|---|
| Prescription and over-the-counter medicines, biologics, medical devices, cosmetics, some foods | FDA MedWatch (fda.gov/medwatch) | A submitted adverse event report; when warranted, the FDA publishes a safety alert |
| Consumer products such as appliances, furniture, tools, toys, child products, furniture tip-over and other household hazards | CPSC at SaferProducts.gov | A report of harm entered in the public database, which businesses can respond to |
| Vehicles and vehicle equipment | NHTSA | A vehicle safety complaint |
| Workplace injury | OSHA or the state workplace safety agency | An inspection or incident record |
Two practical notes. First, a MedWatch or SaferProducts report is a report, not a finding: it records your account, and the agency decides what to do with it. Second, the manufacturer’s response is published alongside SaferProducts reports, so what you write should be factual and specific.
4. Check whether the product is already subject to a recall or warning
Agencies publish recalls and safety communications with dates, hazard descriptions and the affected lots. If your unit falls inside a recall notice or a warning, that document is a dated, public statement about the hazard, and it is worth keeping a copy of the notice as it stood on the date of your injury as well as the current version.
The pattern to watch for is a warning that changed: many product cases turn on what the label said when the product was used, compared with what it said later.
5. Keep a chronology, and keep the paperwork together
A single chronological table, with one line per event and a date on each, is the most useful document you can build:
| Date | Event | Document |
|---|---|---|
| Purchase | Where and when the product was bought, and by whom | Receipt, order confirmation, bank statement |
| Use | When the product was used, how often, how it was stored | Your notes, photographs |
| Injury | What happened, who was present, where you were treated | Medical records, photographs, notes |
| Report | Date the agency report was filed; reference number | Confirmation from the agency |
| Follow-up | Treatment, costs, missed work, and the date of each | Bills, records, wage statements |
Keep originals. Provide copies. And keep a written note of every telephone call about the matter, including who you spoke to and when.
6. Get advice before deadlines, not after
Filing deadlines are statutory and vary by state; the guide on statutes of limitation in injury claims explains how they are calculated and why a discovery rule or a minor’s status can change the date. Where a government entity is a potential defendant, a shorter notice period usually applies. Documenting your file does not extend any deadline. If a deadline is close, the right next step is a licensed lawyer in the relevant state or the court, not a website.
7. What to be careful about
- Do not sign a release, waiver or “settlement” from a manufacturer’s representative without advice. These documents can end the claim.
- Do not pay anyone to file an agency report or a claim. MedWatch and SaferProducts are free, and court-approved settlement claims are free to file, as the settlement verification guide explains.
- Do not post the details of an unresolved claim publicly, including in forums and social media. Documents you write now can be used later.
- Do not accept a removal of the product without photographs first. If a manufacturer asks for the item back, record its condition and keep copies of the correspondence.
What this does not establish
Nothing here determines whether a product caused an injury, whether a claim exists, or what any claim is worth. Causation questions are decided by medical evidence and, if a case is filed, by a court. This guide is about preserving an accurate record so that those questions can be answered on evidence rather than memory.
Sources
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration: “MedWatch: The FDA Safety Information and Adverse Event Reporting Program” (link, accessed 2026-10-13)
- U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission: “SaferProducts.gov” (link, accessed 2026-10-13)
CollectiveClaim.us publishes general legal information. This article is not legal advice and does not create an attorney–client relationship. Court records and agency actions change; verify current status with the court or agency before relying on it.