What is a Product Liability Law?

Product liability law has been conceptualized to protect the consumers from injuries or losses caused by unsafe or defective items. The law upholds the right of the consumers to get compensation for a faulty product and considers the manufacturers, wholesalers, vendors and distributors liable for the damages. The law tries to ensure the safety of the consumers. It also wants the manufacturers and distributors to be held responsible for bringing products in the market that are either defective or dangerous.

Which items can be covered by the product liability law?

Although product liability law is generally attached to retail items or tangible products but it can extend to intangible items also. Defective products used in real estate like a leaking roof or a defective gate can call for product liability action.

Type of product defects

Product defects can be classified under several groups depending on the local law. The broad groups are as follows.

Design defect – when a product has a flaw in the design which makes it dangerous then it is termed as a design defect.

Manufacturing defect – manufacturing defect occurs when the product becomes faulty due to some flaw in the manufacturing process.  A fault in the way a product is manufactured makes it unsafe.

Marketing defect – a marketing defect entails all such issues as providing improper instructions or installation guides along with the product which makes the product unsafe for the user. It also includes cases where due to inadequate labels a user is unable to recognize a defect in a product.

Theories of product liability

The product liability law encompasses three theories and depending on the case an applicant can pursue more than one theory.
Here are the three theories explained in details.

Negligence – the negligence theory states that a manufacturer has the duty to ensure that a product is safe and is liable for injuries or damages caused by a product which is carelessly manufactured. Negligence can also be defined as failure to make a product safe or to have a testing mechanism in place to ensure that products are properly manufactured. The onus lies with the applicant to show that he was injured by the product as an outcome of the defect while using it.

Strict liability – a strict liability theory states that once an applicant proves that a product is defective, the manufacturer or distributor or seller can be held liable for the defect and the damage it has caused.

Breach of warranty – a warranty is an agreement of fitness between a customer and the manufacturer or seller of the product. If the product fails to meet those fitness criteria then a breach of warranty occurs. It can be both implied and expressed. A breach of express warranty occurs if the applicant claims that the actual written warranty has been violated. A breach of implied warranty occurs if the plaintiff charges that in spite of no express warranty a flaw in the product makes it unfit for the desired purpose.

Product liability statutes differ from state to state. Some states adhere to the strict liability model while others place the onus on the plaintiff to prove the liability. There are states which defer to the safety regulations of governing agencies and hence protect manufacturers. Some states are quite lenient and protect those who are not directly involved in manufacturing unless the applicant can validate that these agencies had knowledge of the defect present in the product.