Home > Blog > How Does Product Liability Law Work?

Product liability law provides protection for consumers in the event that a product is advertised defectively, manufactured effectively, or designed defectively. It can be a complex area of the law and because it covers such a wide range of products, the cases that involve product liability law can be remarkably different between one and the next. For example, one person may end up suing a manufacturer because a toaster caused their kitchen to start on fire while more than 1000 different plaintiffs may be suing a medical device manufacturer because of a defective hip replacement part.

Some product liability claims that involve many different plaintiffs are filed as class action lawsuits. In these class-action lawsuits, the court hears one or a few representative claims that largely describe the claims of the other plaintiffs involved, freeing up court time and allowing those plaintiffs to get paid, if they are due compensation, much more quickly. These types of cases, however, depend upon the plaintiff being able to establish that their situation was remarkably like many other people’s situations. As an example of how this sometimes fails, an article in Weil.com discusses a case when a plaintiff failed to establish that there were other claims similar to his own involving a firearm.

Talking to an attorney is the first step in determining whether a product liability lawsuit is merited. Generally, if some sort of negligence on the part of a manufacturer caused harm, a product liability lawsuit is an option for the person injured.

http://product-liability.weil.com