What Is Product Liability?

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Imagine using a product in good faith only to have it malfunction and cause an injury to you or someone in your family because of a defect. A perfectly normal everyday situation can turn into a nightmare in an instant without warning. Hopefully this situation never happens to you or anyone you love. But, if it does, the following information is important for you to know. What is Product Liability? Product liability is a situation in which a manufacturer is responsible for injuries that are sustained through the use of a defective product. Responsibility for defective products lies on any seller in a distribution chain. The law that dictates product liability dictates that all products meet the ordinary expectations of its consumers. Liability …show more content…

In a product liability case, that means that the plaintiff (the injured party) does not need to prove the product was defective, but rather the defendant needs to prove the injury occurred because the plaintiff was negligent in the use of the product and the injury was a direct result of that negligence. Strict Liability Strict liability is another situation that favors the plaintiff in product liability cases. If strict liability applies, the plaintiff only needs to prove that the product was defective, but does not need to prove the manufacturer was. When manufacturer fault is eliminated, it creates a “no-fault” situation, which allows the plaintiff to recover damages where he or she might not have been able to otherwise. Proving Fault in a Product Liability Case In most cases, to recover damages for an injury, you need to prove negligence or carelessness on another entity’s part. However, when dealing with product liability, that is not necessarily the case. When trying to recover damages for product liability via a strict liability case, the following conditions must all be

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