A power tool malfunctions and causes severe hand injuries. A child’s toy breaks apart and creates a choking hazard. A kitchen appliance catches fire and burns you. Medical devices fail and worsen your health condition. When products don’t work as intended and cause injuries, you have legal rights to hold manufacturers, distributors, and sellers accountable for the harm their defective products caused.
Our friends at Andersen & Linthorst handle cases involving everything from dangerous pharmaceuticals to faulty consumer electronics. A catastrophic injury lawyer experienced with defective product claims understands the specialized laws that apply to these cases and knows how to prove that product defects, not user error, caused your injuries.
Three Types of Product Defects
Product liability law recognizes three distinct categories of defects, each with different proof requirements and legal theories.
Design Defects
A design defect exists when a product is inherently dangerous due to how it was designed, even when manufactured perfectly according to specifications. The design itself makes the product unreasonably dangerous for its intended use.
Examples include vehicles that roll over too easily, children’s products with small parts that detach and create choking hazards, or tools that lack necessary safety guards. Every unit manufactured has the same dangerous design flaw.
To prove a design defect, you typically must show that a safer alternative design was feasible and would have prevented your injury without significantly increasing costs or reducing the product’s usefulness.
Manufacturing Defects
Manufacturing defects occur when something goes wrong during production, creating a dangerous product that differs from the manufacturer’s intended design. Most units are safe, but the specific product that injured you had a manufacturing flaw.
Contaminated food products, improperly assembled furniture that collapses, or electronics with faulty wiring are common examples. The design might be perfectly safe, but errors during manufacturing created the dangerous condition.
Warning Defects (Failure to Warn)
Products can be defective if manufacturers fail to provide adequate warnings about non-obvious dangers or proper usage instructions. Even inherently dangerous products can be sold safely if accompanied by appropriate warnings.
Manufacturers must warn about:
- Known dangers that aren’t obvious to users
- Proper assembly and usage instructions
- Potential hazards from misuse
- Necessary safety precautions
- Age restrictions when applicable
A ladder that doesn’t warn against exceeding weight limits, medication without proper dosage instructions, or chemicals sold without hazard warnings all represent failure to warn defects.
Strict Liability Makes Claims Easier
Most states apply strict liability to product defect cases. This means you don’t need to prove the manufacturer was negligent or knew about the defect. You only need to prove:
- The product was defective
- The defect existed when it left the manufacturer’s control
- The defect caused your injuries
- You were using the product as intended or in a reasonably foreseeable way
This legal framework removes the burden of proving fault or negligence, making product liability claims more plaintiff-friendly than typical injury cases.
Who Can Be Held Liable
Product liability cases can name multiple defendants along the distribution chain. Potentially liable parties include:
- Manufacturers who designed or produced the product
- Component part manufacturers who supplied defective parts
- Wholesale distributors
- Retail stores that sold the product
- Online marketplaces in some jurisdictions
You can pursue claims against all parties in the chain, and courts will determine how liability is allocated among them. This is beneficial because it increases the likelihood of finding a defendant with adequate insurance or assets to pay your damages.
Common Defective Products
While any consumer product can be defective, certain categories appear in product liability litigation more frequently:
- Automobiles and automotive parts
- Medical devices and pharmaceuticals
- Children’s toys and products
- Power tools and machinery
- Household appliances
- Electronics and batteries
- Food and beverages
- Cosmetics and personal care items
The Consumer Product Safety Commission monitors product safety and issues recalls for dangerous items, though recalls don’t prevent you from filing injury claims.
Preserving the Defective Product
The actual product that injured you is the most important piece of evidence in your case. Preserve it exactly as it was after the accident. Don’t attempt repairs, don’t throw it away, and don’t alter it in any way.
Store the product safely where it won’t be damaged or tampered with. Take photographs from multiple angles showing the defect and any damage. Keep all packaging, instruction manuals, and receipts.
Product testing by engineers and safety professionals will be necessary to prove the defect existed. Without the actual product, proving your case becomes extremely difficult or impossible.
Comparative Fault and Misuse
Product liability claims can be reduced or defeated if you misused the product in an unforeseeable way or modified it in ways that caused the defect. However, manufacturers must anticipate reasonable misuse and design products to be safe even when not used perfectly.
Using a ladder beyond its weight rating might be misuse. But if the ladder collapses because of a manufacturing defect unrelated to weight, you can still recover.
Statute of Limitations and Statute of Repose
Product liability claims face standard statutes of limitations, typically two to four years from the date of injury. However, some states also have statutes of repose that bar claims after a certain number of years from when the product was sold, regardless of when injury occurred.
A statute of repose might prevent you from suing 12 years after purchasing a product, even if the injury just happened. These laws vary significantly by state and product type.
Class Actions vs. Individual Claims
When a defect injures many people, class action lawsuits might be filed seeking compensation for all affected individuals. While class actions raise awareness and can force recalls, individual settlements from class actions are often small.
If you suffered serious injuries, an individual lawsuit typically provides better compensation than joining a class action, though consulting an attorney about your specific situation is important.
Recalls Don’t Prevent Lawsuits
Manufacturers sometimes issue recalls for defective products. A recall doesn’t prevent you from suing and might actually help your case by proving the manufacturer acknowledged the product was defective.
However, participating in a recall program that provides refunds or replacements might include terms that affect your ability to sue. Read recall paperwork carefully before accepting any compensation.
Medical Monitoring Claims
For products like pharmaceuticals or toxic substances where harm might not manifest for years, some states allow medical monitoring claims. These seek compensation for the cost of ongoing medical surveillance to detect future injuries, even before actual harm occurs.
Punitive Damages Availability
Product liability cases are among the few injury claims where punitive damages are commonly awarded. If manufacturers knew about defects and continued selling dangerous products anyway, juries can award punitive damages to punish this egregious conduct.
These damages can be substantial, especially against large corporations that put profits ahead of safety.
Federal Preemption Issues
Some products, particularly medical devices and pharmaceuticals approved by the FDA, face federal preemption defenses. Manufacturers argue that federal approval shields them from state product liability claims.
Courts have issued mixed rulings on preemption, and these cases require attorneys with specialized knowledge of how federal and state law interact.
Holding Manufacturers Accountable
Defective products cause thousands of preventable injuries every year, and manufacturers must be held responsible when dangerous design, manufacturing flaws, or inadequate warnings harm consumers. We handle product liability claims involving all types of defective goods and work with engineering professionals and safety advocates to prove that product defects caused our clients’ injuries. If you’ve been injured by a product you believe was defective, contact our team to discuss whether you have grounds to pursue compensation from the manufacturer and others in the distribution chain.