Product Liability In California

Product liability refers to a broad area of the law that is designed to allow those who have been injured, or who have suffered from other damages or loss as a result of a product's malfunction, to seek compensation. A qualified liability attorney such as those at Estey & Bomberger are able to assist you in determining the merits of your case individually and expertly, and then to plan a legal course of action in recovering damages in your product liability suit should it be determined that you have one.

Three types of product defects incur liability in manufacturers and suppliers, including design defects, manufacturing defects, and marketing defects:

This is the case where a product imperfection occurs when the seller or distributor could have reduced or avoided a foreseeable risk of harm by adopting a reasonable alternative design, and when, as a result of not using the alternative, the product is not reasonably safe. A hidden defect is like it, in that the product imperfection is not obvious by reasonable inspection but where the seller is still generally liable if the flaw causes harm. A manufacturing defect is an imperfection in a product that departs from its intended design even though all possible care was exercised in its assembly and marketing. A marketing defect is a failure to adequately warn of a potential risk of harm that is known or should have been known about a product or its foreseeable use.

The law of products liability is found mainly in common law (state judge-made law) and in the Uniform Commercial Code. Article 2 of the UCC deals with the sales of goods and it has been adopted by most states. In it, the most important products liability sections are the implied and express warranties of merchantibility in the sales of goods §§ 2-314 and 2-315. Products liability is derived mainly from Torts law (See Torts and Personal Injury).