Legal Definitions - product liability

Product liability is a legal concept that allows people to sue a company if they are injured by a defective product. This can happen if the product was made incorrectly, designed unsafely, or if there were not enough warnings about the risks of using the product.

• A car company is sued because their cars have a defect that causes the brakes to fail.
• A toy company is sued because their toys have small parts that can be swallowed by children, causing a choking hazard.
• A pharmaceutical company is sued because their medication has dangerous side effects that were not properly warned about.

These examples illustrate how a product can be defective in different ways, and how the company can be held responsible for the harm caused to the consumer.

There are two standards that courts use to determine if a product is defective:

• The consumer expectation standard: This means that a product is defective if it is more dangerous than an ordinary consumer would expect it to be. For example, if a toaster catches on fire when used normally, this would be a defect that an ordinary consumer would not expect.
• The risk-utility standard: This means that a product is defective if the risk of harm outweighs the benefits of the product's design. For example, if a medication has a high risk of causing serious side effects, but there are no other treatments available, this may be considered an acceptable risk.

These standards help courts determine if a product is defective and if the company should be held liable for any harm caused to the consumer.