Product liability was designed to protect consumers from manufacturers and distributors who produce dangerous, defective or injurious products. Basically it means that the manufacturers or distributors are liable, or responsible, for any injuries, illnesses or losses caused directly by their product. Product liability is regulated from state to state so the laws are different all across the country. Some people will file an individual product liability lawsuit while others may join a class action lawsuit.
Product liability is only valid when a product has been purchased in a traditional method and through a traditional retailer. If the product that has been purchased then causes any injury, the retailer, distributor and manufacturer are all liable.
There are three main methods by which a product can be determined to be liable due to defect. They include a defect in design, a defect in manufacturing or a defect in marketing.
A defect in design means that the design was flawed such that it created a dangerous product. For instance if a manufacturer of child car seats designed the car seat in such a way that it could not be secured properly into a car, or that it presented a hazard to the child, the product could then be liable if an injury occurs.
A defect in manufacturing means that the product was not assembled or built properly, and that defective production created a dangerous product. In this case, although the design was sound, perhaps the product was manufactured with substandard materials, was not put together properly or has some other assembly problem. An example of this type of liability can be seen in Firestone's defective tire cases in the 1990's.
A defect in marketing means that the product was deliberately misrepresented and/or not sold with proper warnings and instructions. A failure to warn is a more recent addition to the product liability statutes, but without proper warning, if a product causes injury, the manufacturer, and distributor or retailer is considered liable.
There are some products that have been determined as unavoidably unsafe, and these products, when sold with proper warnings are protected from typical product liability. Products like axes, chainsaws, knives and the like would not be effective if made “safe” by most standards.
The tobacco lawsuit phenomenon, for instance, is one of the most publicized and successful product liability lawsuits. Because the tobacco companies did not properly inform the public about the dangers of smoking cigarettes, and because of how they marketed their product, they were liable for the millions of consumers who developed cancer and emphysema because of smoking. Even now there is a resurgence of light cigarette tobacco lawsuits because of the false advertising about light or low tar cigarettes that has enticed millions of consumers into behavior that remains dangerous.
Lawsuits against companies like McDonald’s are another example of the failure to warn statute. In this case, people are suing McDonald’s for health issues related to obesity, heart disease and other disease as a result of consuming fatty foods. Plaintiffs contend that they were not warned about McDonalds French fry ingredients and that they have been harmed by the product as a result.
If you feel as though you have been harmed by a product, due to a product defect in design, manufacture or marketing, you may have grounds to file a product liability lawsuit.