Product Liability Claim

Shook, Hardy & Bacon L.L.P. (SHB), a law firm with offices strategically located throughout the United States and Europe, routinely defends clients against product liability claims.

In most jurisdictions, a product liability claim may be based on one or more of four different theories: Negligence, Breach of Warranty, Misrepresentation, and Strict Liability.

Negligence refers to the absence of, or failure to exercise, proper or ordinary care. It means that an individual who had a legal obligation either omitted to do what should have been done or did something that should not have been done. A product liability claim can be made and a manufacturer can be held liable for negligence if lack of reasonable care in the production, design or assembly of the manufacturer's product caused harm.

Breach of Warranty refers to the failure of a seller to fulfill the terms of a promise, claim or representation made concerning the quality or type of the product. The law assumes that a seller gives certain warranties concerning goods that are sold and that he or she must stand behind these assertions. If not, a product liability claim can be made against the seller.

Misrepresentation in the advertising and sales promotion of a product refers to the process of giving consumers false security about the safety of a particular product, ordinarily by drawing attention away from the hazards of its use. A product liability claim lies in the intentional concealment of potential hazards or in negligent misrepresentation. The key to recovery on the basis of misrepresentation is the plaintiff's ability to prove that he relied upon the representations that were made. Misrepresentation can be argued under a theory of breach of express warranty or a theory of strict tort liability.

Strict Liability involves extending the responsibility of the vendor or manufacturer to all individuals who might be injured by the product, even in the absence of fault. Injured guests, bystanders or others with no direct relationship to the product may sue for damages caused by the product. For an attorney to win a product liability claim, an injured party must prove that the item was defective, the defect proximately caused the injury, and the defect rendered the product unreasonably dangerous.

Learn more about the experience that makes us the leading defender of product liability claims. Contact us today!