While the specific product liability laws vary from state to state, they all share the common idea that companies have some degree of duty to protect consumers from potential hazards, even if the damage is primarily caused by consumer negligence or deliberate misuse. Courts have held that manufacturers generally have more innate knowledge about their products, so it falls on them to assume financial responsibility for injuries and property damage. This damage falls into four general categories: negligence, breach of warranty, misrepresentation, and strict liability.
Negligence means that someone in the company who had a legal obligation to the customer either failed to do what should have been done or did something that should not have been done. The manufacturer is negligent if lack of reasonable care in the production, design, or assembly of the manufacturer's product caused harm. For example, a manufacturing company might be found negligent if its employees did not perform their work properly or if management sanctioned improper procedures and an unsafe product was made.
Breach of warranty means that the seller failed to fulfill the terms of a promise or claim made concerning the quality or type of the product. The law also assumes that a seller gives certain warranties concerning goods that are sold and that he or she must stand behind these assertions.
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. An action 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 tort 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. An injured party must prove that the item was defective, the defect proximately caused the injury, and the defect rendered the product unreasonably dangerous.
