Products Liability and Defective Product Cases
Consumer products that are defective and dangerous may cause injury or death. Each year, despite consumer protection laws and advanced manufacturing techniques, thousands of people are hurt by dangerous products that reach the market. Common injuries include amputation, traumatic brain injury, carbon monoxide poisoning, choking, paralysis, and burns. Some companies are not as careful as they should be when bringing products to market. Products liability cases can be complex. Medical professionals, engineers, and other experts may be called to testify to prove that the defective product directly caused a plaintiff’s injury.
Who is Liable for Compensating Victims Injured by Defective Products?
When a defective product causes an injury, it is possible that multiple parties in the distribution chain can be held liable, including the following:
- Product manufacturers
- Manufacturers of component parts
- The designer of any part of the product
- Companies that assemble and/or modify the product
- Wholesalers or distributors
- Retailers
It is important to identify all potentially liable parties to ensure that all entitled compensation can be recovered. Under the theory of joint and several liability, all defendants bear collective responsibility for paying compensation if it is determined that a product defect caused harm. If one defendant lacks the financial resources to pay, the others must make up the difference.
The process of identifying liable parties can be complicated. There are multiple points where a defect may have been introduced or missed. Manufacturers employ various quality control processes to ensure products are produced and assembled correctly. Outside consultants may be brought in at any point in the process, and their liability should be investigated. Retailers and distributors may also be held accountable, particularly if they are found to have sold or distributed products that were recalled by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).
When Should I File a Products Liability Claim?
In California, lawsuits involving defective products are often filed as personal injury claims. Victims should consider filing a products liability claim if they sustained serious injury that was clearly due to a defective product. A claim will be valid only if it can be shown that the defect was a substantial factor in causing the injury.
If someone was harmed because a product was used in a way that it was not intended to be used, they may not have a valid claim. For example, if an individual falls while standing on the top step of ladder, and the ladder had a label that warned users about the dangers of standing on the top step, then it will be very difficult to prove that the ladder was defective. However, if someone was using the ladder properly and a faulty bolt caused it to collapse, they may have a valid claim.
A claim must establish that the product was legally defective owing to how it was manufactured or designed, or that warning labels, signs, or other instructions for safe use were inadequate. There are several legal theories that may be brought in a products liability claim, including the following:
- Strict liability
- Risk/benefits test
- Consumer expectations
Manufacturers are strictly liable when they place products on the market that cause injury. The victim does not necessarily need to prove that the defendants acted with intent or were negligent. This is one characteristic that makes products liability cases different than traditional personal injury claims. There are typically three types of defects under strict liability, which include manufacturing defects, design defects, and a failure to warn.
Design Defects and Consumer Expectations
Under the consumer expectations test, a product may be defective in design if, when the consumer is using the product in the intended manner, it fails to perform as safely as an ordinary consumer would expect. The victim must produce evidence that the product failed to satisfy ordinary consumer expectations of safety. Also, a design considered safe at the time the product was placed on the market may be deemed defective several years later at the time of injury, owing to changing consumer expectations or industry standards. If the defect is attributable to changing standards, the manufacturer may be held liable for failing to modify or retrofit the product or to warn users of dangers that manifested after the product was manufactured.
