Product Liability Lawsuit Information and Case Examples...

Numerous sellers and manufacturers of defective products are named in lawsuits each year.

A product liability lawsuit seeks to establish that the product causing an injury was defective, and that the defect made the product unreasonably dangerous.

Anyone hurt by a defective product can file a product liability lawsuit to recover costs relating to their injuries.

Product defects can be found in:

Design (how the product was engineered)

Manufacture (how the product was made)

Marketing (advertising or labeling for the product set false expectations for effectiveness and safety)

Defective products can include:

-medications with dangerous side effects
-defective medical devices
-faulty automobile parts
-contaminated food or supplements

A product is considered defective if it doesn't work as expected and exposes its user to an unexpected danger.

Many definitions of reasonable consumer expectations come from the Uniform Commercial Code, which extends a set of guidelines on interstate commerce. As long as the product is used in its intended fashion, and it still results in harm to the user, the product may be considered defective.

Some products are dangerous by design: knives, explosives, chemicals, chainsaws, etc. In this case a product liability lawsuit would have to establish that there was insufficient warning about the inherent lack of safety with the product.

If a product is unavoidably unsafe the user is still responsible to act in a reasonable way when using it. If the user did act reasonably and the product still malfunctioned in some way causing them to be injured, they may have grounds for a product liability lawsuit.

So if you burn your hand on a stove, you probably don't have a case because it's reasonable to expect a stove to be hot. Also, putting your hand on the stove is an unreasonable use of the product. But if the stove was advertised as "cool touch" and you got burned anyway, you may have a case that the stove was defective.

Toy and Product Safety Tips - Check out this great list of resources for toy safety and related product liability sites.

Product Liability Case Studies:

Playground Accident Personal Injury Suit - This case example deals with a child being injured on a private school's playground. There are two theories of liability discussed: negligence on the part of the school and product liability on the part of the equipment manufacturer.

Dangerous Medication Interaction - Here we look at a case where the victim suffered harmful side effects from taking two drugs together. Although a doctor prescribed the medications, liability falls on the manufacturer because of inadequate warnings.

Product Liability Article Dealing with a Dangerous Toy - A child is burned by a defective electronic doll in this case example. We examine the concept of strict liability and discuss settlement negotiations.

Read the following real life case examples to better understand how a product liability lawsuit works:

Class Action Claim Asserting The Defendant Ran a Pyramid Scheme - In this class action claim the plaintiffs are seeking damages from the defendant for defrauding them in what they assert was a pyramid scheme.

Negligence Lawsuit Seeking Only Economic Damages - In this negligence lawsuit the plaintiff is seeking damages for his truck catching fire due to a faulty electric winch.

Personal Injury Accident Claim Seeking Damages After Plaintiff Sat on an Improperly Assembled Chair - In this personal injury accident claim the plaintiff is seeking damages for injuries resulting from a chair collapsing when he sat on it. The chair was improperly assembled and on display at a furniture store at the time of his injury.