Anyone using a product, be it a household product or heavy machinery, has the right to believe that it would be safe for its intended use. One should be able to believe that the product is safely designed and manufactured. Products liability laws refer to the liability of anyone with a responsibility for a product, if such product causes damage due to defect. The defect can be a manufacturing defect, design defect or defect in marketing. Defective products can result in a broad range of injuries, or even death. A Pennsylvania product liability attorney can help to get the help you need in these situations.
The Law
There is no federal product liability law. Pennsylvania law places strict liability on the manufacturer/seller of a defective product as he is the guarantor of the product’s safety. The liability is for any harm that a defect in its product was a substantial factor in bringing it about. Pennsylvania law of strict liability is based on Sec. 402A of the Restatement (2d) of Torts. A defective product might either lack any element necessary to make it safe for its intended use or possess any feature that rendered it unsafe for the intended use.
Liability
Liability for a product defect could rest with any party in the product's chain of distribution, such as the manufacturer, wholesalers, a retail seller of the product, and a party who assembles or installs the product. For strict liability to apply, the sale of a product must be made in the regular course of the supplier's business. Strict liability, in products liability litigation, extends beyond the design/ manufacture of a product. It is the duty of the manufacturer and supplier of a product to also provide such warnings and instructions as are necessary to inform the user or consumer of the possible risks and inherent limitations of the product in a form that will reach the ultimate consumer. The law of strict product liability concentrates on the safety of the product rather than on the reasonableness of the manufacturer and supplier's conduct. As a result, the manufacturer and supplier of a product may be liable for harm caused by its defective product even where all possible care in the preparation and sale of its product has been exercised.
Defenses
Assumption of the risk is a defense, where it can be shown that the injured person voluntarily chose to encounter a known risk by manifesting, under the circumstances, a conscious appreciation of and willingness to accept the danger posed by the defect in the product.
The manufacturer/seller can also claim that there was a substantial change in the product after it left its control. However, that defense is not available if the alteration would have been reasonably foreseeable to the manufacturer and supplier of the product or if the injury could have been sustained even if the alteration had not occurred.
Another defense raised in product liability cases is that the plaintiff has not sufficiently identified who supplied the product that injured him/her. A plaintiff must be able to connect the product with the party (ies) responsible for manufacturing or supplying it. There is an exception to this rule, known as the “market share liability” exception, which applies in cases involving defective products. For instance, in cases involving pharmaceutical products, where a plaintiff cannot identify which of the pharmaceutical companies that supply a particular drug supplied the drug he/she took, each manufacturer will be held liable according to its percentage of sales in the particular area where the injury occurred.
Damages
In a product liability suit, a claim under the law of strict product liability may be made for property damage or personal injury resulting from the defect, but not for damages to the defective product itself. The victim of defective product is entitled to compensatory damages, which includes medical bills incurred as a result of the product defect, reimbursement for any time lost from work, and property damaged as a result of the defective product. The victim is also entitled to damages for pain and suffering experienced as a result of the injury, and general damages over and above the damages listed above.
If the victim is married and the injury has affected the relationship with his/her spouse, the injured person may be entitled to loss of consortium damages. The spouse may also be able to recover these damages, even if he/she was not directly injured by the product. Finally, if the conduct of the defendant was “egregious”, the victim may be entitled to punitive damages to punish the defendant(s). Punitive damages are much restricted and the proof requirements are usually stricter than the other damages.
Limitation
A strict product liability claim has to be filed within two years of the date of harm. However a similar claim for breach of express or implied warranty has a four year statute of limitations. There is also a 12 year statute of repose that applies to products that have become fixtures, i.e., elevators, escalators, conveyor belts and the like. The statute of repose eliminates the right of recovery unless an action is commenced within 12 years of the date of incorporation into the real estate as a fixture. Note that the statute of repose has been found not to apply to manufacturers, but only those involved in planning or installation of the product as a fixture.
Conclusion
In general terms, the law requires that a product meet the ordinary expectations of the consumer. When a product has an unexpected defect or danger, the product cannot be said to meet the ordinary expectations of the consumer. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission advises that there are 200-300 product recalls each year. Most of these recalls involve children's products and toys but also included are automobiles, furniture, household appliances, tools, and safety equipment such as smoke detectors and circuit breakers. These defective products are responsible for scarring, pain, suffering, disabilities, loss of income, debt due to medical and other bills and even death. Contact a Pennsylvania product liability law firm today.
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