Product liability refers to a manufacturer or seller being held liable for placing a defective product into the hands of a consumer. Responsibility for a product defect that causes injury lies with all sellers of the product who are in the distribution chain. Potentially liable parties include: the manufacturer; a manufacturer of component parts; the wholesaler, and the retail store that sold to the end consumer.

Strict product liability refers to one of the theories under which a plaintiff can proceed when bringing an action based upon an injury caused by a product. In a strict product liability action, a plaintiff can recover damages without showing that the manufacturer or seller of a product was negligent.

If you were injured by a dangerous or defective product, you may entitled to compensation for your medical expenses, lost wages, and any pain and suffering you experienced. That being said, product liability lawsuits are typically complex affairs, so you’ll want to talk with a legal professional before moving forward. A good first step is to contact an experienced product liability lawyer.

There are several types of flaws that make a product defective

• Manufacturing defect – Where the product was designed properly, but the defect came about through the manufacturing process.
• Design defect – Where the product was essentially flawed because of its design.
• Failure to Warn – Where a product, although otherwise safe, causes an injury due to the manufacturer’s failure to warn of a particular danger associated with the use of the product that was known or reasonably knowable to the manufacturer.

This depends on the theory of liability that an injured party is pursuing. If one is bringing an action under negligence, he must show that the defect that caused the injury came about through the defendant’s failure to exercise reasonable care in the design, manufacture, and marketing of the product. In a strict liability case, the general test is whether the product itself was unreasonably dangerous, regardless of the care used in designing or producing it. Finally, in a breach of warranty case, the focus is on whether product was fit for use under its express or implied warranty.

Although manufacturers of products are usually liable for injuries that they know will occur through the use of their products. They may be held liable for illnesses caused through the defective manufacturing of the drugs, for adverse effects that were not known of through a failure to properly test the drug, or a failure to warn of known adverse side effects.

A person injured by a defective or dangerous product may be able to bring an action for product liability and recover damages under one of the following theories:

1. Strict product liability
2. Negligence
3. Breach of warranty.

• The cause of the injury must be a “product” as defined by the law,
• The injured party must show that the product was defective,
• The injured party must show that the defect was present at the time the product left the possession of the manufacturer, supplier or retailer, and
• The injured party must show that it was the defect in the product that caused the injury

There are two types of warranties:

1. Implied warranties
2. Express warranties

You might be able to recover for a breach of an implied warranty if your state has implied warranty statutes, which are usually found in a state’s commercial code and are not specific to particular types of product, but are implied under the law to cover most categories of products. You might recover for a breach of express warranty if the seller or manufacturer of a product expressly extended a warranty to you, in writing or verbally, and the product injured you.