Strict Product Liability Law

If you think that you have been negatively affected by certain consumer products or have been unduly injured because of a consumer product then you may be covered by strict product liability laws that this country has. You may be able to seek compensation for your losses or damages depending on the severity and cause.

Strict product liability laws cover all liability of any and all parties along the chain of manufacture, development and sale of a product for damages and liability cause by the product. This chain extends from the very top (product R&D) to the bottom (Sales, Customer Service). In some cases the retail store owner may also be enveloped in product liability laws under some circumstances.

The subjects of product liability laws are also not restricted to the owners of the product but basically anyone who uses the product. Specifically this is called the “chain of use” where the product can be loaned, used by a neighbor, or even stolen and the product liability laws are still active.

It should be noted that products are not only restricted to goods of a tangible nature, basically anything that can be bought with money and isn’t a service is covered under the product liability laws.  Product liability laws extends to intangible assets such as gas, pets, real estate titles, writings (instruction manuals) and even charts (maps).

There are actually several classes of product liabilities and it relates to the specifics in which the defects occur in the product. The first and most common sort of defect is called “design defect” or “inherent defect”. This is when the defect is actually designed into the product through an engineering fault or mistake. The product may still function well and do what it is supposed to do but may present an unacceptable amount of risk to the user when the product is used.

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