What You Need to Know About Product Liability in California
California’s product liability laws are in place to prevent any possibility of defective parts or products entering the marketplace and causing harm to users. Therefore someone who designs, manufactures, or sells a defective part or product is strictly liable for injuries that occur as a result of their use, even when the user was not necessarily negligent in causing the harm. Here’s everything you need to know about product liability in California.
Product Liability Laws
California law has specific statutes regarding the protection of the public from any harm caused by negligence or other mistakes in the creation, manufacturing, sale, and use of products. There are liabilities that may be imposed for any damage that may ensue as a result of a defective product, especially in areas of negligence, breach of warranty, misrepresentation, and strict tort liability. In California, strict liability can be imposed for three types of product defects:
- Manufacturing defects
- Design defects
- Warning defects (inadequate warnings)
California Civil Code 1714 also covers the specific requirements where a manufacturer or seller will not be held liable in a product liability action. Examples of these outlined requirements include instances where the product is inherently unsafe and known to be so by the ordinary consumer, or the product is a common consumer product intended for personal consumption.
Related: What is Tort Law? Can I Be Compensated?
Strict Product Liability
There are several instances where strict liability is upheld in California, which essentially means that the injured party suing for damages does not need to prove that the defendant was negligent. This process is quite beneficial on the plaintiff’s behalf as they have less of a burden to prove the failure of the manufacturer in taking proper degrees of care with their product. Under California law, if a product is more dangerous than it should be or contains inadequate warnings, then whoever designed, manufactured, or sold the defective product is strictly liable for any resulting harm or injury.
Proving a Product Liability Claim
In order to prove a product liability claim in California, there must be certain elements proven by the injured party:
- The defendant designed, manufactured, distributed, or sold a defective product,
- Harm was suffered as a result of the defect,
- The product was defective at the time it left the defendant’s possession, and there was a failure to warn consumers of its dangers, and
- The injured party was using the product in a way that is was reasonably designed for
If these elements can be proven in a California product liability case, then it will most likely be a success for the plaintiff. Regarding the use of a product in a reasonably foreseeable way, California law requires manufacturers to anticipate how the average consumer would use or misuse their product. This is why manufacturers are held to the strict expectations that proper instructions and warnings should be clearly presented for the consumer. In product liability cases, a jury will typically determine whether the defendant took reasonable steps to prevent injury from occurring, and whether the plaintiff’s use of their product was reasonably foreseeable.
FAQs
What is the difference between a manufacturing defect and a design defect?
A manufacturing defect exists when a product is used by a consumer in a reasonably foreseeable manner that is different from the manufacturer’s intention. In this instance, the plaintiff would need to prove that the product’s manufacturing process was flawed, and the product was manufactured differently than the prototype.
A design defect, on the other hand, occurs when a product is legally defective even if it was manufactured exactly as intended. In order to prove a design flaw, a consumer must show that the product either failed to perform safely as an ordinary consumer would expect, or that the risk of danger present in the design outweighs any benefits.
What products are covered under California Strict Liability Law?
Almost all products are covered under this law, including cars, chairs, toys, household equipment, clothing, other types of furnishings and appliances, etc. However certain products that are considered “inherently unsafe” to the common consumer may include medical devices and prescription drugs.
Who can be sued for product liability?
Strict liability can be imposed against manufacturers, as well as anyone else directly in the marketing chain – which may include sellers or distributors. Wholesalers and retailers may also be sued for product liability.
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