Product Liability Law Protects Consumers from Defective Products

Every product should be able to meet the regular or ordinary expectation of a consumer. If a person buys a product and incurred injuries because of it, he or she has the right to sue the manufacturer of the product. Product liability law, also known as products liability, governs the liability of the manufacturers, distributors, and sellers for injuries or damages caused by their defective products. Its goal is to help protect consumers from dangerous products, and at the same time holding manufacturers and sellers responsible for putting products that they should have known were defective or dangerous into the marketplace.

The Ones Responsible

For product liability to arise, of course there should be a product that was sold in a marketplace. If the person who purchases the product gets injured because of a defect of the product, then the liability could rest with any party in the product’s chain of distribution, from manufacturers to sellers, and even installers. However, the sale of the product must be made in the regular course of the supplier’s business, which means that someone who sells merchandise at a garage sale would probably not be legally responsible in a product liability action.

The Types of Product Liabilities

Product liability is generally based on three theories:

Negligence – The manufacturer or seller of the product did not act to ensure the safety of the product. It can be that they were not able to make the necessary inspections during the manufacturing process, were not able to package the product properly, or did not issue adequate warnings or instructions.

Strict Liability – It means that the manufacturer or seller is liable for injuries caused by an unreasonably dangerous product, even if he or she used all possible care in the preparation and sale of the product. Unlike negligence, a person may not have to prove the manufacturer knew about the danger, because even if they didn’t, they should have known that already.

Breach of Warranty – This means the statements made by the manufacturer or the seller of a product is proven to be untrue, whether intended as a falsehood or not. The manufacturer or seller broke a written or implied promise that the products are free from defects. The party making the warranty will then be liable to the person to whom the guarantee was made. GP

Posted in Personal Injury Defective Products  on October 18, 2008 - 3:39 am by admin  |