When a product injures someone while being used as intended (or in a way the maker should have anticipated) the law provides a route to hold the manufacturer, distributor or seller responsible. These cases can be complex, but the framework is straightforward.
Three kinds of defect
- Design defect: the product is dangerous as designed, even when built perfectly. Example: a space heater with no tip-over shutoff.
- Manufacturing defect: the design is fine, but this particular unit was made wrong. Example: a batch of tires with a bad bond between layers.
- Warning or marketing defect: the product needed a warning or instructions it didn't have, or its marketing encouraged unsafe use. Example: a medication without a warning about a known interaction.
Who can be responsible
Depending on the state, anyone in the chain of distribution (manufacturer, component maker, importer, wholesaler, retailer) may be liable. Many states apply strict liability, meaning you don't have to prove carelessness, only that the product was defective and caused the injury.
What to preserve
- The product itself, in the condition it was in after the injury. Do not repair it, return it, or throw it away. This is the single most important thing.
- Packaging, manuals, receipts and any registration or warranty records
- Photos of the scene and the injury
- The name and lot number, if visible
- Records of any recall notices
Common defenses
Manufacturers argue that the product was altered, misused, or worn out; that the danger was obvious; or that the injury had another cause. Keeping the product and the records answers most of these.
Recalls
A recall doesn't automatically prove a defect, and the absence of one doesn't mean the product was safe. Check the Consumer Product Safety Commission and, for vehicles, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Product cases often require engineering experts and can be expensive to bring. Attorneys who handle them typically work on contingency and evaluate the economics up front. This article is general information, not legal advice.
Keeping the product safe until it can be examined
Holding on to the product is the first step. Keeping it in usable condition as evidence is the second, and it's where good intentions sometimes go wrong.
- Don't try to figure out what failed. Taking it apart, plugging it back in or testing it can destroy the evidence an engineer needs to see.
- Photograph it from every side as soon as you can, then place it in a sturdy bag or box along with any broken pieces.
- Label the container with the date and a short description, and store it somewhere dry and secure.
- Write down everyone who has handled it since the injury.
- Politely decline if the retailer or manufacturer offers to take it back for a refund or an internal review.
Larger items take extra care. If a vehicle, appliance or piece of equipment is involved, tell your insurer in writing not to salvage or dispose of it, and ask for it to be held. When experts do examine a product, attorneys usually arrange a joint inspection so both sides can watch and neither can be accused of altering it.
When the product came from online, secondhand or overseas
Where you bought the product can shape who's responsible and how hard it is to reach them.
Products sold through online marketplaces raise a question courts are still working through: is the platform a seller, or just a venue connecting you with one? Answers differ from state to state and sometimes depend on how involved the platform was in storing and shipping the item.
Used products are another wrinkle. Many states don't apply strict liability to people who sell secondhand goods, like a neighbor at a yard sale, though the original manufacturer may still be responsible if the defect existed when the product first left its hands. Anything modified or repaired since then complicates the picture.
Foreign manufacturers can be hard to bring into an American court. In those cases the importer, distributor or retailer sometimes becomes the practical target.
Keep your order confirmation, the seller's name as it was listed and screenshots of the product page. Online listings change or disappear, and they can show what was promised about the product.
A realistic example
Consider a hypothetical: Nora was using a new electric pressure cooker when the lid released while the pot was still under pressure. She suffered burns to her hands and forearm.
After getting treatment, she unplugged the cooker without opening it further, photographed it, and packed it with the lid and inner pot into a large box in her closet. She kept the manual, the original packaging and her online receipt, and she took a screenshot of the listing before it could change.
The retailer offered to send a replacement if she returned the original. Nora declined. She checked for recalls and found none, which she understood didn't settle anything either way. She also filed a report with the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
When she consulted a product liability attorney, the attorney explained that an engineer would likely need to inspect the cooker, with the manufacturer's expert present, before anyone could say what went wrong.
Common questions
How long do I have to file a product liability claim?
It depends on your state. Most states set a statute of limitations that starts running when you're injured, or when you discovered (or should have discovered) the injury and its cause. Some states also have a statute of repose, which can bar claims once a product reaches a certain age, no matter when the injury happened. Both deadlines can be strict.
Should I report a dangerous product to the government?
It's often a good idea. The Consumer Product Safety Commission runs a public database where consumers can report unsafe household products. Vehicle and car seat problems go to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and problems with medications or medical devices can be reported to the Food and Drug Administration. A report doesn't create a legal claim, but it helps regulators spot patterns.
Can I still bring a claim if I was using the product the wrong way?
Possibly. Manufacturers are expected to anticipate reasonably foreseeable misuse, not just perfect use. Standing on a chair to reach a shelf is foreseeable; using a lawn mower as a hedge trimmer probably isn't. Even where misuse played a part, many states reduce rather than eliminate recovery under comparative fault rules. How a court views it depends heavily on the facts and the warnings provided.
Once you've had medical care, photograph the product that hurt you, box it up and write the date on the box.
