Strict Liability Lawsuits

Those who have incurred a personal injury due to a product defect may be eligible to pursue a claim against a manufacturer or distributor for their damages under legal law.  This legal responsibility of a manufacturer or distributor falls under the theory of strict liability.  Under this doctrine, it matters not whether the manufacturer acted negligently or carelessly, they are liable to be held legally culpable for the product defect.  Strict liability is applicable in claims pertaining to products with manufacturing defects, design defects, and failure to warn/instruct.

Proving & Defining Strict Liability

Strict liability allows plaintiffs who are injured by a product to hold distributors and manufacturers legally culpable for their damages incurred by a product’s defect.  Since it would be exceedingly difficult or potentially impossible to prove that a manufacturer was careless in the making or design of a product, the plaintiff must instead prove aspects of the defect.  The plaintiff will need to prove there is a defect in the product, that the defect actually caused their injury and that the defect caused the product to be unreasonably dangerous when used for its intended purpose.  Proving all these aspects of a product defect does not mean the claim is a winning case, but it is the basis of a strong legal argument against the manufacturer.

Manufacturer Defense to Strict Liability

Manufacturers will usually have two strong arguments to base their defenses against strict liability.  Did the plaintiff know the product was defective but continued to use it and/or was the product substantially altered from its original state?  If the answer is yes to either of the aforementioned questions, the plaintiff may have lost their right to a strict liability claim.  Strict liability may also not be applicable if the product was purchased from a third party seller such as a vendor market, an individual via online resale platform, or a thrift store.  This is primarily because these sellers are more than likely not in the business of regularly selling a particular product and it was a one-off sell.

Contact Us for Help

We are happy to help with your questions and discuss your claim to help you decide if your case is worth pursuing in courts.  Call the Gallagher Law Firm at (888) 222-7052 or click here to contact us online.