Product Liability Claim: Injured by a Defective Product

A manufacturing defect is an error in making a particular item: a weld that failed, a contaminant in a batch, a component installed wrong, so that this item is more dangerous than the design intended and than the identical items beside it on the shelf. It is the easiest defect to prove when the product is available for examination, because the comparison with the design and with other units shows the departure.

A design defect is a flaw in the design itself, so that every item made to it carries the danger: a ladder that buckles under rated load, a vehicle that rolls over in ordinary maneuvers, a space heater that ignites nearby material, a toy with parts a child can choke on. States test design defects differently, some asking whether the product failed to perform as a consumer would expect, others whether the risks of the design outweighed its benefits given available alternatives, and the test shapes the expert evidence.

A warning defect is the absence of adequate warnings about dangers the manufacturer knew or should have known of, or inadequate instructions for safe use. A product that is safe when used as instructed but dangerous in a foreseeable misuse the manufacturer did not warn against, or a drug whose side effect was not disclosed, has a warning defect. The adequacy of a warning, its content, prominence and placement, is judged against what a reasonable manufacturer would have provided.

Strict liability, adopted in most states, holds anyone in the business of selling a product liable for injury caused by a defect that existed when the product left their hands, without proof of fault. The manufacturer is the primary defendant; the component manufacturer, if the defect was in a part; the distributor and the retailer, who in most states are liable as sellers even though they did nothing wrong, with a right to recover from the manufacturer. A minority of states have limited seller liability to cases where the manufacturer cannot be reached.

Negligence claims run alongside strict liability, for a manufacturer's careless design, testing, manufacturing or warning, and are necessary in the states that have not adopted strict liability or have limited it. Breach of warranty claims, that the product did not conform to its express or implied promises, add a contract-based theory with its own rules and deadlines. A claim usually pleads all three.

Foreign manufacturers are a practical problem: many consumer products are made abroad by companies without American assets, and the domestic importer, distributor and retailer are the collectible defendants, which is why seller liability matters. Online marketplaces' liability for products sold by third parties through them is unsettled and differs by state, with some courts treating the marketplace as a seller and others not.

Suppose you were using a cordless power saw bought from a national retailer when the blade guard failed to return after a cut and the exposed blade severed two tendons in your hand. You had surgery and six months of therapy, with $44,000 in medical bills and lasting limitation in your grip; you were a carpenter.

You kept the saw, the packaging and the receipt. An attorney retained an engineer, who examined the saw and found the guard's return spring had been installed in a way that allowed it to bind, a departure from the design drawings the manufacturer produced in discovery, and a manufacturing defect. The manufacturer, a domestic company, was the primary defendant; the retailer was named as a seller. The manufacturer's defense was that you had modified the guard, which the engineer's examination and the saw's condition refuted.

The claim included the medical bills, the lost income during recovery, and lost earning capacity based on a vocational assessment of a carpenter with a permanent grip limitation. It settled after the manufacturer's own engineer examined the saw. Had you discarded the saw, or had it been repaired, the claim would have had no proof of the defect. All figures are hypothetical; the preserved product is the whole case.

Product claims are won or lost on whether the product survives to be examined.

• Keep the product exactly as it is: do not repair it, do not return it to the store, do not let the manufacturer collect it, and do not discard any part of it, including the packaging and the batteries.
• Keep the receipt, the box, the manual, the warnings and any registration or warranty records; they identify the model, the date and the seller.
• Photograph the product, the scene and the injury, and write down exactly what you were doing when it failed.
• Get medical care the same day and describe the mechanism precisely.
• Check for recalls on the federal consumer product and vehicle safety databases, and report the incident; a report creates a record and may surface similar incidents.
• Do not give a statement to the manufacturer or its insurer, and do not accept a replacement or refund in exchange for the product or a release.
• Consult an attorney early; product claims require an engineer, and the expert work takes time.

Most states have adopted strict product liability by statute or case law; a few apply negligence principles only or have limited strict liability to manufacturers. The design defect test differs: the consumer expectations test in some states, the risk-utility test with a requirement to prove a feasible safer alternative design in others, and a combination in several. Seller liability is full in most states and limited in a minority to cases where the manufacturer is unavailable.

Deadlines have two layers: the state's product liability or injury statute of limitations, usually two or three years from the injury, and in many states a statute of repose that bars claims a fixed number of years after the product was first sold, commonly ten to fifteen, regardless of when the injury occurred. Comparative fault applies to the injured person's misuse or alteration of the product, and the contributory negligence states apply their rule to negligence claims and, with variation, to strict liability claims.

Federal law preempts some product claims: certain medical devices approved through the FDA's premarket approval process, some drug labeling claims, and some vehicle and aviation standards, where courts have held that federal regulation displaces state claims. Those areas are specialized, and the preemption question is evaluated at the outset. Damage caps on non-economic and punitive damages apply to product claims in the states that have them.

Vehicles and components: airbags that failed or deployed with excessive force, seat belts that unlatched, roofs that crushed in rollovers, tires that separated, and vehicles with rollover propensity, with the vehicle preserved and the crash data retrieved. Lithium-ion batteries in e-bikes, scooters, phones and power tools that ignited. Power tools and machinery with inadequate guards. Space heaters, dryers and appliances that started fires. Ladders and scaffolding that failed under rated loads.

Children's products: cribs, sleepers, furniture that tipped, toys with small parts or magnets, car seats, and products that were recalled after injuries. Medical devices and implants, hip and knee components, mesh, and pumps, and prescription drugs with undisclosed risks, which are often litigated in consolidated proceedings with thousands of claimants. Food and consumables with contamination. Firearms with defects that cause unintended discharge.

Each category has its own body of law and its own experts, and the attorneys who handle them are often specialized. A product claim is frequently the largest-value claim arising from an incident that also involves an ordinary negligence claim, which is why a vehicle in a crash is preserved rather than salvaged when a component may have failed.

A product liability claim holds the manufacturer and the sellers responsible for a defective product's injury, often without proof of their negligence, and it depends entirely on preserving the product, identifying the chain of sale, and an engineer's examination, against defendants who defend these claims with resources. The questions to answer early are whether the product has been preserved, what model and seller the records identify, and whether the state's deadline and statute of repose have run. Attorneys who handle product claims work on contingency and advance the expert costs.

Ask Legal Matters is a free claim-review request service, not a law firm. Requests may be shared with independent attorneys and legal services partners who handle inquiries in your state, and an attorney must evaluate the facts before anyone can say what the claim is worth. If you were injured by a product that failed, you can request a free claim review before the product is lost.

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• Accident on Icy Roads or in Bad Weather: Who Is at Fault
• Airbag Did Not Deploy in a Crash: Can You Sue, and Whom?
• Amputation Injury Claim: Prosthetics and Lifetime Costs
• At Fault in a Car Accident? Comparative Negligence Explained
• What Is the Average Car Accident Settlement? What Sets the Value

Need local rules? Choose your state from the injury law guides hub or read the statute of limitations by state.