Product Liability

Product liability laws are meant to protect and compensate you for injury due to manufacturing defects, design flaws or a failure to provide proper warning labels and information.

Product liability may be assumed by various participants in the manufacturing and distributing process of a product. Product liability can extend to many different parties involved in the manufacturing and retail process. The manufacturer of the product itself can have liability for a defective product, but the supplier of the parts used to manufacture the product may equal or greater liability. Product liability can extend all the way down to the retailer of the product. And, a product liability claim can be filed even if the injury occurred to a person who did not directly purchase the product, but was injured by its use nonetheless.

Types of Product Liability Claims

There are several types of product liability claims. A product liability claim can be filed for negligence. Negligence exists in a product liability claim when reasonable care was not taken to prevent injury to a person.

Another type of product liability claim is strict liability. Strict liability occurs even when all necessary precautions have been taken, all safety measures were followed, but an injury occurred anyway.

Product liability claims can also take the form of breach of warranty. Breach of warranty is cited when a product fails to perform as stated by the manufacturer and causes injury. A breach of warranty product liability claim exists as a result of a direct transaction between the buyer and seller.

There are several types of breach of warranty based product liability claims. You should check with a product liability attorney to determine the type of breach of warranty your product liability injury would fall under.

Buyer Beware

In years past, consumers were at the mercy of the buyer beware policy. But, in recent years, that has changed to strict liability laws where the manufacturer and distributor of goods have the burden of providing safe and effective products that do not harm consumers. They are also responsible for providing proper warning labels and instructions for use.

Many states now have consumer protection laws outlining product liability responsibility. Every state has its own set of laws governing consumer protection and product liability and they can vary greatly from state to state. Due to the vast differences in product liability laws, the United States Department of Commerce has drafted a guideline known as the Model Uniform Products Liability Act which states may use if they wish. But, there are no federally mandated product liability laws.

To know your rights in your state, contact a product liability attorney at Arnold & Itkin LLP for a free case evaluation. There is never a consultation fee and we take cases on a contingency basis only.

To start your product liability case evaluation contact our product liability attorneys at Arnold & Itkin LLP by calling toll-free (866)222-2606 or by completing the ‘FREE Case Review ’ form at the right.