What Is Product Liability

Have You Been Injured by a Defective or Dangerous Product?

If you or someone you love has been injured by a defective or dangerous product, you are likely wondering what to do next. You could have a right to file a lawsuit to recover compensation for your injuries. If you are considering a product liability lawsuit, speaking with an experienced attorney is in your best interest. Product liability is a specialized field, and laws in this area can be complicated. Hiring a product liability lawyer and hiring the correct lawyer is the number one factor in the success of your claim.

Defective product claims are very common. The National Safety Council estimates that 11.7 million people were treated in emergency rooms in the United States last year because of injuries from dangerous or defective products. These products range from dangerous drugs to e-cigarettes to medical products or devices to automobiles. Some injuries may be mild, while others, such as an automobile defect, can be fatal.

Is Product Liability the Same as Personal Injury?

Product liability falls under the category of tort law. Tort claims are often personal injury. Product liability is a type of personal injury claim that holds manufacturers of products liable if there was a defect in a product that they produced that caused an injury.

What are Some Common Types of Dangerous or Defective Products?

All kinds of products can be dangerous or defective, but some of the most common include:

• Pharmaceutical drugs
• Baby products, such as cribs, carriers, strollers, high chairs, and car seats.
• Children’s clothes and toys.
• E-cigarettes.
• Pools and spas.
• Warming blankets or heated blankets.
• Space heaters.
• Automobiles.
• Fireworks.

Injuries from these products range from mild to life-threatening. Some of the common injuries from these products are lacerations, choking, suffocation, amputation, burns, and eye injuries.

What Are the Three Types of Product Liability Claims?

Product liability claims can generally be classified into three main types. The types are:

• Breach of warranty. A warranty is a guarantee that a product will work the way it is supposed to. A warranty can be either implied or explicit. If you’ve been injured by a product’s breached warranty, you may have a legal claim.
• Strict liability. Strict liability claims are specialized product liability claims and only require showing that the product had a defect, not that the manufacturer was negligent. This situation normally arises only with very dangerous products.
• Negligence. Negligence in product liability is similar to negligence in other areas of personal injury.

What Is Strict Product Liability?

A strict liability tort occurs only in specific situations that are so inherently dangerous that the injured party doesn’t need to prove that the other party breached their duty to them. In a strict liability case, all that the injured party has to prove is that the at-fault party caused the injury without proving negligence.

How Do You Prove Strict Liability in a Product Liability Claim?

Strict liability product liability claims generally must have the following four elements:

• The plaintiff must be a merchant. First, there is a requirement that the plaintiff be a merchant, meaning that must be someone who routinely deals in goods of the type at issue. The product must be defective.
• This second requirement is simple: the product must be defective in some way. This element is satisfied by any of the defects mentioned below: design, manufacturing, or labeling.
• No changes to the product. The product must not have been changed or altered since it left the control of the liable party. This generally is satisfied by the product continuing to move normally in the regular chain of distribution with no interruption.
• The plaintiff must be using the product in a foreseeable manner. This last element can be trickier to prove. “Foreseeable” use of a product does not always mean using it according to its main use, and it can even mean misuse. There are circumstances where it is foreseeable for a consumer to use a product in a certain way, and if this use has risks, it is the duty of the defendant to warn the consumer. For example, a folding chair’s main use is seating. However, it is foreseeable that a consumer might use it to stand on. If the chair collapses in the course of a foreseeable use by the consumer, then the defendant had a duty to include instructions or a warning.

How Do You Prove Negligence in a Product Liability Claim?

When a product liability claim is based on the negligent design, manufacture, or failure to provide instructions, the general elements that you must prove to succeed in your claim are:

• The defendant sells a product.
• The defendant is a commercial seller of the product.
• The plaintiff must suffer an injury.
• When the defendant sold the item, it was defective.
• The defect was an actual and proximate cause of the plaintiff’s injury.

The elements are similar to a standard tort claim but are more specialized because they involve product liability.

What Are the Types of Product Defects?

There are various types of product defects, but the main three types of defects in products are:

• Defective manufacturing. Manufacturing defects are errors during the creation of the product or any defects during the manufacturing process. This type of defect is common when there is a lack of quality control. Many products with manufacturing issues have flaws caused by a defect or deviation in the manufacturing, which means that the defective product differs from the others on the assembly line. This type of defect is also known as a one-in-a-million type of defect.
• Defective design. Product designs themselves can also be dangerous. Defects often occur when the cost to a company of redesigning a product outweighs the benefits. Many class action lawsuits against automobile manufacturers are based on design defects. Vehicles have a variety of safety defects, including airbag defects, seat belt defects, electrical systems defects, brake failures, steering failures, tire failures, fuel system failures, and windshield wiper failures.
• Failure to provide adequate warnings or instruction. The last type of product liability claim is the failure to provide sufficient warnings or instructions to consumers. Manufacturers have a responsibility to publish warnings about any risks. Manufacturers also must make sure these warnings are clear and in language that consumers can easily understand. If the risk is hidden or otherwise concealed, the warning label must adequately explain the situation. The most common type of failure to warn arises with medications and pharmaceutical drugs with an estimated 4,500 recalls in medicine taking place each year.

If you were injured by a product under one of these circumstances, you could be entitled to compensation through a product liability claim against the manufacturer of the product. If you find yourself considering a product liability claim, you should consult with an attorney with experience in these practice areas. You can call or message us today for advice and a free consultation.

Can There Be a Class Action in a Product Liability Claim?

A class action lawsuit involves a large group of plaintiffs instead of one or several co-plaintiffs. A class action lawsuit happens only in certain circumstances when a large number of people have been injured by a product defect. This often occurs when a mass product recall requires a product to be removed from stores and returned to the manufacturer to protect consumers from harm.

Who Is Liable for the Defective Product?

Consumers have a right to assume that the products they use are safe and that they have been tested for risks before going on the market, and anyone injured by a dangerous product, even sometimes indirectly, can recover damages. You can even recover damages if you were not the person who purchased the product if you meet the other requirements for a claim.

Any person or company in the line distribution can be liable for a dangerous product. This will, of course, depend on the facts of your claim and on who knew about the danger. Generally, liability can fall on the product manufacturer, a product’s part manufacturer if only a part were at issue, the person or company responsible for assembling the product, the person or company who installed the product, the wholesalers, or the store that sold the product.

What Damages Can I Receive in a Product Liability Claim?

You can be compensated for many kinds of damages in a product liability claim, including:

• Medical bills. Any medical bills associated with your injury can be compensated.
• Lost wages. Any lost wages from the injury and future lost wages can be compensated.
• Pain and suffering. Sometimes, you can recover additional damages on top of medical bills to compensate you for your pain and suffering.
• Emotional distress. The injury to your mental state can also be compensated.

Are There Any Defenses to a Product Liability Claim?

Even when a product is found to be defective, some courts use certain tests to find out if the defendant is still liable for the defect. The two tests are:

• Risk-utility test. The first test sometimes used is the risk-utility test. Under this test, the defendant is not liable for a design defect if there is evidence showing that the product’s utility outweighs its risk of harm.
• Consumer expectation test. This test asks if a reasonable consumer would find the product defective when using it reasonably. If a reasonable consumer would not consider the product defective with reasonable use, then the defendant is not liable even if an injury resulted.

What Is the Statute of Limitations for Product Liability Claims?

Statutes of limitations, or how long after the death or injury, vary by state. It is in your best interest to work with a lawyer who understands these deadlines. Regan Zambri Long practices throughout Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC. The statute of limitations in these three locations is:

• Maryland. In Maryland, the statute of limitations for a wrongful death claim is 3 years from the date of the injury, death, or damage to property.
• Virginia. In Virginia, the statute of limitations for a wrongful death claim is 2 years from the date of the injury, death, or damage to property.
• Washington, DC. In DC, the statute of limitations for a wrongful death claim is 3 years from the date of the injury, death, or damage to property.

Why Should I Choose Regan Zambri Long, PLLC?

If you or someone you love has been injured and you are considering filing a legal claim for your injuries from a defective product in the Maryland, Virginia, or Washington, D.C. areas, one of the many experienced lawyers on our team can help.

One of our senior partners, Victor Long, has secured some of the highest settlements and verdicts in our product liability practice and has litigated product liability cases involving the leveling and marketing of medication and pharmaceutical drugs. One of Attorney Long’s product liability successes was a $4.2 million settlement for a 6-year-old child injured by defective playground equipment. Another of his successes was a $3.8 million settlement for a 5-year-old child injured in a fire caused by a faulty extension cord. This even resulted in the company developing a warning label for the extension cord.

Our lawyers often operate on a contingency fee basis, meaning that you only pay after you win, and the amount owed is based on the amount you win at trial. Call Regan Zambri Long today or contact us online for a free case evaluation.