Product liability law holds manufacturers, distributors, and sellers responsible when a defective product injures someone. The underlying principle is that businesses that profit from putting products into the marketplace should bear the cost of harm those products cause.
This area generally recognizes three kinds of defects: a design defect, where the product is unsafe even when made correctly; a manufacturing defect, where something went wrong in production; and a warning or marketing defect, where the product lacks adequate instructions or warnings about its risks.
Common situations include injuries from vehicles, household appliances, machinery, medical devices, drugs, children's items, and food. A key concept for non-lawyers is that many product liability claims do not require proving that the company was careless; in many cases it is enough to show that the product was defective and that the defect caused the injury. This is often called strict liability.
People typically consult a product liability lawyer after a serious injury they believe a product caused, especially when the product malfunctioned, lacked a needed warning, or behaved in an unexpected and dangerous way. A lawyer can help identify who in the supply chain may be responsible and whether the injury fits a recognized type of defect.
