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Introduction to Product Liability Law

The goal of product liability laws is to help protect consumers from dangerous products, while holding manufacturers, distributors and retailers responsible for selling products that they knew or should have known were defective. Product liability claims can be brought for a wide variety of products from toys to sophisticated electronics; from drywall to medical implants.

A plaintiff must prove that the product causing the injury or loss was defective. There are three types of product defects: design defects, manufacturing defects and defects in marketing or inadequate warning.

Design Defects: Liability arises from a mistake or oversight in the design of a product, which makes it dangerous when used as intended, or when used for another reasonably foreseeable purpose.

Manufacturing Defects: Liability arises from a defect that results from the manufacturing process.

Marketing Defects: A marketing defect involves such issues as inadequate warning labels or instructions, which, for example, prevent a user from recognizing a defect in the product, or from being aware of how to safely use or apply the product.

Theories of Liability

A plaintiff may assert more than one theory of liability in bringing a product liability claim. These theories include:

Negligence: In a negligence action, the plaintiff must typically demonstrate that the parties responsible for placing the product into commerce had a duty to provide goods fit for their foreseeable uses, would have detected the defect with the exercise of reasonable care in the design, manufacture, or inspection process, failed to meet its obligations, and that the plaintiff was injured by the product as a result of the defect while engaged in a foreseeable use of the product.

Strict Liability: Under a strict liability standard, once the plaintiff establishes that a product is defective, liability results from that fact alone no matter how much care was applied during design, manufacture, marketing, distribution, and sale.

Breach of Warranty

A warranty is essentially a contract of fitness between a manufacturer or vendor and its customer. Under a breach of express warranty theory, the plaintiff alleges the violation of the actual written warranty associated with a product. Under a breach of implied warranty theory, the plaintiff alleges that although there is no express warranty or the defect alleged is not covered by the express warranty, a defect in the goods renders them unfit for the purpose intended.