Product Liability Law

Product liability law is an area of the law that specifically deals with damages or losses that occur as a result of a products malfunction or faulty design, flaw, or defect. A defective product can include anything as obvious as a mislabeled drug that makes someone ill or a faulty vehicle parts that cause an auto injury to something less obvious, like exposure to fumes or second-hand smoke.

Such product defects typically fall under the following categories:

Design defects: These are where a products imperfections occurs when the seller or distributor could have reduced or avoided a foreseeable risk of harm by adopting a reasonable alternative design, or when the product is not reasonably safe.

Manufacturing defects: This is when an imperfection in a product departs from its intended design, even though all possible care was exercised in its assembly and marketing.

Hidden defects: These are similar to manufacturing defects, in that the product imperfection is not obvious by reasonable inspection, but where the seller is still generally liable if the flaw causes harm.

Marketing defects: This is where a failure to adequately warn of a potential risk of harm about a product or its foreseeable use is known or should have been known.

When you purchase an item from a store, that item comes with an implicit guarantee from the manufacturer that the item is in good working condition, that it is safe to use if done so within the guidelines provided by the manufacturer, and that it is without flaws or defects. The maker of the product must warn of potential harm that can come from using the product, and must also provide instructions about product safety. Failure to warn, or inadequate warning, is grounds for a product liability suit.

In the case of second-hand goods, when the item is guaranteed to work like new, there may still be a basis for a product liability case in most situations. In other words, just because the item is not purchased brand new from a store does not mean there is no responsible party for product defect. Sellers of products, in fact everyone between the manufacturer and the consumer, including repairers of products, are in most cases considered to be inside the chain of commerce and may be liable. In these cases it is important to contact a good product liability attorney if you believe you have a case.

Following are some statistics highlighting the very real concern of product defects in recent news:

• According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), in 2002 there were an estimated 212,000 emergency room visits for dangerous toy use alone.
  
• About 26 infants die from crib injuries every year in the United States. The most frequent cause of crib injuries and death is suffocation. Crib deaths can also be caused by gaseous poisoning, where toxic gases can be generated from the mattress where a baby sleeps.
  
• In 2004 Vioxx, a product generally prescribed for osteoarthritis, was removed from the market place due to a safety concern of increased risk of heart attack and stroke for people who used this product.
  
• Safety concerns prompted litigation regarding silicone breast implants back in the 1980s and by 1992 led to their withdrawal for use in routine breast augmentation. Thousands of women manifested illnesses linked to silicone breast implants.

These are just a few examples of product liability cases. If you suspect that you may have a product liability case, you should contact a product liability lawyer soon, as all states have some form of statute of limitations. In the case of something like breast implants, however, most states have what is called a delayed discovery rule, which means that the statute wouldn't run until the injury is discovered. This would apply to cases like asbestos or other hazardous material exposure, of course.

The sites below may provide you with some additional helpful resources:

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prerel.html