Legal Definitions - Products liability

Products liability is a legal area that holds manufacturers, distributors, suppliers, and retailers responsible for injuries or damages caused by defective products they sell to the public. It focuses on ensuring that products are safe for their intended use and that consumers are protected from harm.

When a product causes injury, a claim can be made against any party involved in its "chain of manufacture"—meaning anyone from the company that made a tiny component part, to the company that assembled the final product, to the wholesaler, and even the retail store where it was purchased. The core idea is that if a product has a defect that makes it unreasonably dangerous and causes harm, those responsible for bringing it to market can be held accountable, regardless of whether they intended for the harm to occur or even if they exercised great care.

Products liability claims typically arise from three main types of defects:

• Design Defects: These are inherent flaws in the product's blueprint or plan, meaning every item produced according to that design carries the same risk.
• Manufacturing Defects: These occur during the actual construction or production of the product, often affecting only a small number of items in a batch, rather than the entire product line.
• Marketing Defects: These involve inadequate warnings, insufficient instructions, or misrepresentations about the product's use or safety.

Here are some examples illustrating products liability:

• Example 1: Manufacturing Defect in a Child's Toy

  Imagine a popular brand of building blocks for toddlers. A specific batch of these blocks was produced with a manufacturing error where the plastic used was unusually brittle. A child playing with one of these defective blocks accidentally steps on it, and instead of merely bending or staying intact, the brittle plastic shatters into sharp pieces, causing a deep cut on the child's foot. The parents could pursue a products liability claim against the toy manufacturer. This illustrates a manufacturing defect because the design of the blocks was safe, but a flaw occurred during the production of a particular batch, making those specific items dangerous.

• Example 2: Design Defect in a Power Tool

  Consider a new model of electric hedge trimmer designed with a safety guard that, due to its specific shape and placement, consistently fails to prevent debris from flying back towards the user's face, even when used correctly. A homeowner purchases this trimmer, and while using it as instructed, a piece of wood chips off and hits their eye, causing injury. The homeowner could bring a products liability claim based on a design defect. The flaw isn't in how a single trimmer was made, but rather in the fundamental design of the safety guard, making every trimmer of that model unreasonably dangerous for its intended purpose.

• Example 3: Marketing Defect (Failure to Warn) in a Dietary Supplement

  A new dietary supplement is marketed as a natural energy booster. The product label lists all ingredients but fails to include a warning that the supplement should not be taken by individuals with certain pre-existing heart conditions, as it can cause dangerous palpitations. A consumer with an undiagnosed heart condition takes the supplement as directed, experiences severe heart palpitations, and requires hospitalization. This scenario demonstrates a marketing defect, specifically a failure to warn. Even if the supplement was manufactured perfectly and its design was sound for most users, the absence of crucial safety information on the label made the product unreasonably dangerous for a foreseeable group of consumers.