Strict Liability Rules and Defective Products

In personal injury law, the concept of "strict liability" can be used to hold a seller, distributor or manufacturer responsible to anyone who's injured by a defective product. Let's take a closer look at how this rule works, and everything else you'll need to know about injury cases involving defective or dangerous products.

What Is a Product Defect?

In the simplest terms, a "defect" is a problem that makes a product unreasonably or unexpectedly unsafe when it's used by a consumer, or in the way it affects a member of the public.

In the eyes of the law, there are usually three main types of defects when it comes to products, and when any one of these kinds of defects causes an injury, it can lead to the filing of what's known as a "product liability" lawsuit against the manufacturer and others.

Manufacturing Defects

A manufacturing defect occurs when something goes wrong while a specific product is being made, and the problem only affects that particular product (or a batch or line of products, which often happens with a recall).

A manufacturing defect is usually a mistake or unexpected problem in the production process—something that occurs while the product is being assembled, or anywhere along the line from manufacturing to packaging.

The Philips Respironics CPAP lawsuits arose from a manufacturing defect in the affected product lines.

Design Defects

While a manufacturing defect is a problem that affects a single product or a batch of products, a design defect is a flaw that's inherent in the design of an entire product line, making every product that's sold under that line unreasonably dangerous to consumers and others.

Lawsuits over hearing problems caused by 3M earplugs fall into this category.

Failure to Warn or Inadequate Product Warnings

A manufacturer's failure to properly warn consumers about a product's less-than-obvious risks can also form the basis of a product defect.

Lawsuits over inadequate warnings include those claiming harmful side effects caused by medications like Zantac (ranitidine).

What Is "Strict" Liability in a Product Defect Case?

In most kinds of personal injury cases, the conduct of the people involved is essential. If one person was careless, was that the cause of someone else's injury? For example, in order to be considered liable in a personal injury lawsuit arising from a car accident or slip and fall, the defendant (the other driver or the property owner, respectively) must have done something (or failed to do something) that amounted to unreasonable or careless conduct.

The legal concept of "strict liability" mostly does away with the analysis of whether the defendant's conduct met or fell below a certain standard. In lawsuits over injuries caused by defective products, the conduct of the manufacturer and others usually doesn't matter when it comes to the question of liability. What matters is that the product posed an identifiable danger, and someone was injured as a result.

The thinking here is: If a consumer had to identify and prove the specific mistake that occurred at some point along the timeline of a product's journey to the marketplace, these kinds of cases would be nearly unwinnable. Courts and state legislatures recognize this, so strict liability is established law in product defect cases.

How Do You Prove a Strict Liability Case?

In a strict liability case over a defective product, the plaintiff (the person filing a personal injury lawsuit against a manufacturer) usually must show that:

• the product was unreasonably unsafe or unreasonably dangerous when it was designed, manufactured, or sold
• the manufacturer or seller expected and intended that the product would reach the consumer without changes to the product, and
• the plaintiff was injured by the defective product (the defect alone isn't enough to justify this kind of lawsuit).

That's a lot to unpack. But in reality, when you're hurt by a dangerous product and you file a product liability lawsuit, your lawyer will usually lean on a team of investigators and other experts, who will help establish crucial elements of your case, including:

• the state and condition the product was in when you used it or came into contact with it
• the details of the defect, including the dangers that it represented to consumers like you
• the circumstances of your use of the product, including the lack of any improper conduct on your part, and
• the nature and extent of your injuries caused by the product.

Can I File a Product Liability Lawsuit If I Wasn't the Product Purchaser?

Yes. You don't have to be the person who bought the product in order to file a product liability lawsuit. Anyone injured by a product usually has the right to file this kind of case. For example, if you're injured when a loose part flies out of your neighbor's leaf blower, you likely have a case against the manufacturer or seller of the leaf blower, as long as it was defective.

Are There Other Kinds of Liability in a Product Defect Case?

Yes. Strict liability isn't the only fault theory that can be used by the plaintiff in a product liability lawsuit. Let's look at a few more.

A Manufacturer's Negligence Can Lead to Product Liability

Just like with a car accident or slip and fall, if you can prove that the manufacturer failed to act with reasonable care in designing or making a product that injured you, a claim for negligence is possible.

But keep in mind that "strict liability" is a lower proof hurdle for an injured person to clear, compared with negligence, and the kinds of compensation you can receive (more on this later) are the same under both kinds of fault theories.

Learn more about negligence in a personal injury case.

Breach of Warranty and Product Liability

Besides strict liability and negligence, "breach of warranty" is another legal theory that can be used to hold a manufacturer liable when their product injures someone. The argument here is that sale of the product came with certain guarantees of its safety or quality, and the fact that the product ended up hurting someone amounted to a breaking ("breach" in the language of the law) of that guarantee.

Depending on the specifics of the case, the warranty might be:

• an "express" warranty of the product's quality or safety (like a written guarantee somewhere in the packaging)
• an "implied" warranty that the product was of sellable quality at the time it was purchased, or
• an "implied" warranty that the product was suitable for a particular purposes.

These last two "implied" warranties are not explicitly made in writing by the manufacturer. They're typically created automatically when the manufacturer places a product for sale on the market. Learn more about consumers' warranty rights.

Many states have laws requiring consumers to give notice of any breach of warranty to the manufacturer—and give the manufacturer a chance to address the situation—before any product liability lawsuit can be filed.

Can Product Liability Involve Fraud?

Yes, but defective product cases based on a "fraud" theory require much more in terms of proof. Typically, the plaintiff must show that:

• the defendant made certain representations about the product
• those representations weren't true
• the defendant knew the representations weren't true (or that they were unlikely to be true)
• the defendant made the representations so that the plaintiff would buy the product
• the plaintiff was justified in relying on the defendant's representations, and
• the plaintiff was damaged in some way as a result of the defendant's false representations.

When a product liability case involves possible fraud or other outrageous conduct on the part of the manufacturer, the possibility of a punitive damages award comes into play. More on this later.

Product Liability Plaintiffs Can Make More Than One Legal Argument

A product liability plaintiff (the injured person who is filing the civil lawsuit) can use as many legal theories as might apply to their case. In other words, you won't be forced to guess (right at the outset of your case) which theory is best and then stick with that one course. You and your lawyer will work together to craft the best strategy for your case.

What Are Some Examples of Product Defects?

Any kind of product on the market can end up being defective, including:

• prescription medications
• vehicle parts
• consumer products containing (or manufacturing using) chemicals
• medical devices
• appliances, and
• children's furniture and toys

We touched on a few examples earlier, but here's a list of some specific consumer products and medications that have been the subject of a fair amount of product liability lawsuits in recent years:

• the dangers of Juul and other e-cigarette products
• links between cow's milk-based baby formula and harm to infants
• use of a potential cancer-causing ingredient in the popular weed killer Roundup
• injuries and health complications caused by IVC filters
• dangerous side effects of Ozempic and similar drugs
• health problems linked to PFAS ("forever chemicals"), and
• health risks of hair-straightening and hair-relaxing products.

Who Can Be Sued for Strict Products Liability?

Manufacturers are the obvious defendants in these kinds of cases, since they design and produce products and components (or parts). In some situations, a defective component may have been manufactured by one company, and the larger product could have been assembled by another. Vehicle parts a good example here. In that case, you might file a product liability lawsuit against both companies.

Distributors, retailers (the store where the product was purchased), and anyone else in the "chain of distribution" can also be on the legal hook. Although a distributor might simply receive a product from a manufacturer and pass it on to a retailer without a chance for inspection, and the retailer can sell it to a consumer without making any changes to the product, an injured consumer might still sue both (in addition to the manufacturer). The thinking here is that consumers shouldn't be left without a legal remedy simply because they can't prove who in the distribution chain was responsible for a product defect.

Learn more about who to sue for product liability.

How Much Is a Product Liability Case Worth?

This is a big question on the minds of most people who are thinking about making a claim for injuries caused by a defective or dangerous product. The truth is that every strict product liability case is unique in a number of ways, including the seriousness of the resulting injuries and their effects on the claimant's life. But let's start by looking at the different kinds of losses ("damages") that can be compensated in a product liability case:

• payment of bills for any kind of past medical treatment that was necessary to treat your injuries (from the emergency room to care you receive from specialists).
• compensation for the cost of ongoing medical care and treatment you'll need in the future because of injuries caused by the product
• recovery of earnings and income you've lost because of your injuries and the impact they've had on your ability to work, run your business, or otherwise earn money
• compensation for the impact your injuries will have on your future wages and your ability to continue working or otherwise earn a living (including any temporary or permanent disability), and
• payment for the day-to-day physical and mental pain and suffering you've endured because of the effects of your injuries, the medical procedures you've needed, and the impact all of it has had on your life while your recovery continues. (Learn more about pain and suffering in an injury case.)

It's important to note that the specific type of legal claim you're making might affect the kinds of compensation you're eligible to receive. A strict liability claim allows a plaintiff to recover the full range of damages outline above, including "pain and suffering." But in a breach of warranty case, compensation can often be limited to concrete economic damages (e.g. damage to property, medical bills, etc.), and usually excludes "pain and suffering" damages.

Can You Get Punitive Damages in a Product Liability Case?

If an injured person wins their product liability case against a manufacturer or other defendant, punitive damages might be awarded if the defendant's conduct was particularly outrageous or if it involved outright fraud (as outlined above).

Punitive damages are given to the plaintiff, but they're not meant to compensate for the plaintiff's injuries or other losses. Instead, they're meant to punish the defendant's conduct and send a message that might deter similar actions by others. So these awards can end up being quite high. For example, in recent years, Johnson & Johnson has been ordered to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in punitive damages in several lawsuits over asbestos in talc products.

Learn more about punitive damages in personal injury cases.

Are There Caps on Damages in Product Liability Cases?

A handful of states—including Colorado, Maryland, Michigan, and Ohio—have passed laws that place a limit (or "cap") on the amount of compensation an injured person can receive in a product liability case, if their lawsuit goes all the way to trial and a jury finds the manufacturer (or another defendant) liable.

In all of these states, the cap only applies to the amount of noneconomic damages the successful plaintiff can receive. As we mentioned above, noneconomic damages include compensation for the injured person's mental and physical "pain and suffering," so that's the biggest consideration for plaintiffs to keep in mind when it comes to these caps.

No state has a cap on the amount of economic damages (compensation for medical bills, lost income, and other financial losses) an injured person can receive in a product liability case.

What's the Time Limit for Filing a Product Liability Lawsuit?

In every state, a law called a "statute of limitations" sets a limit on how much time you have to go to court and file a product liability lawsuit against the manufacturer or some other defendant. The "clock" typically starts on the day of your injury, and the filing deadline is usually somewhere between two and six years from that date, depending on the law in your state.

Most states have a statute of limitations that specifically applies to product liability lawsuits, while in a few states the deadline that applies to personal injury cases also applies to claims involving injuries caused by a product. For details on the statute of limitations deadline for filing a product liability lawsuit where you live, check out our State-by-State Personal Injury Laws article collection.

The "Discovery Rule" and Product Liability Lawsuits

An injured person doesn't always know right away that they've been harmed by a product, so it's not always fair for the statute of limitations "clock" to start on the date of the initial harm (it might not even be possible for the injured person to know that date).

A good example here is illness caused by long-term use of a product like the weed-killer Roundup. Let's say you regularly used Roundup for two years beginning in 2021, and you're diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma four years later, in 2025. Your doctor thinks your illness could be linked to your use of Roundup. In a state that follows the "discovery" rule, the time limit on your defective product claim would probably begin to run on the date of your diagnosis (that is, when you discovered your injury), not when you first started using Roundup, or even when you last used it.

What Are Some Defenses to Product Liability Claims?

Simply because a plaintiff is required to prove less in a strict product liability case (compared with a negligence-based action) doesn't mean a defendant's liability is automatic. There are a number of ways a strict liability case can fail, or be successfully defended. The defendant might be able to show that:

• the product's danger was not known or knowable under the technological and scientific "state of the art" available at the time the product was designed or manufactured
• the plaintiff used the product in a way that they knew (or should have known) could lead to injury
• the plaintiff used the product despite knowing of the defect
• the plaintiff altered the product in a way that created the danger
• the plaintiff somehow "assumed the risk" that they might be injured by the product
• the plaintiff caused or contributed to their own injury, including by using the product in a way that wasn't intended, or in a way that went against product labeling or warnings
• the defect didn't actually cause the plaintiff's injury (note that if whatever led to the injury was predictable and preventable, either by design or by warning, the product might still be considered the ultimate cause of the injury), and
• in ""breach of warranty" claims, the manufacturer might argue that the consumer somehow "disclaimed" the warranty at the time of purchase (in exchange for a lower price, for example), so that the warranty no longer applied.

It's important to remember that the specifics of the defenses available to a manufacturer or other defendant in a product liability case will vary depending on state law. But in most states, some version of the arguments listed above are considered true "defenses" that the manufacturer must raise and prove in response to a plaintiff's claims.

What to Do If You're Injured by a Defective Product

The steps you take after an injury like this can go a long way toward protecting your health and your legal options. Here's an initial to-do list:

• take pictures of the product in the condition it was in when it injured you
• take pictures of your injuries, to the extent that there's physical proof of them
• preserve the product in the condition it was in when it injured you, if possible (including the packaging and any instructions)
• get the names and contact information of any witnesses who might have seen how your injuries happened
• get necessary medical attention for your injuries, as soon as possible
• keep any follow-up appointments and follow the advice of your health care providers
• make notes of what you were doing when the product injured you, how your injuries happened, and anything else that's relevant to the incident, and
• keep an ongoing journal of how the incident and your injuries are affecting you, both physically and mentally.

Do I Need a Lawyer for a Product Liability Case?

If you've suffered a significant injury that was caused by any kind of product, it usually makes sense to at least discuss your situation with a lawyer—to see if you have a valid case, and to understand what you'd be up against.

Product liability cases are complex, and product manufacturers usually have the will and the resources to defend themselves pretty aggressively. If a lawsuit looks like the right move, a lawyer will be able to gather the right evidence, assemble the best team of experts, and put your most effective case together.

Injury attorneys almost always handle product liability cases under a "contingency fee" agreement, meaning the lawyer won't get paid for their legal services unless you receive money through a settlement or court award. Learn more about finding, hiring, and working with a personal injury lawyer.