Products Liability , like personal injury, falls under Tort Law. (See Personal Injury for more information on torts and tort law.) Products liability law deals with the liability of any party or all parties involved with the manufacture of a product for damages caused by it. Products liability claims can be based on negligence, strict liability, or breach of warranty of fitness depending on where the claim originates. Most of the time, products liability is considered a strict liability offense. This means that the plaintiff only has to prove that there is a defect in the product. Then, the manufacturer or supplier causing the damages is considered to be 100% responsible regardless of any degree of carefulness on their part or any lack of care by the consumer, nullifying any possibility of comparative or contributory negligence.

There are three types of product defects that can incur liability for manufacturers and suppliers: design defects, manufacturing defects, and defects in marketing. Design defects are inherent defects that exist before the product is manufactured. Manufacturing defects occur during the construction or production of the product, and defects in marketing involve improper instructions for safe use or operation of the product and/or failures to warn consumers of latent dangers in the product.

Products defects not only cover tangible products, like an automobile, but also intangibles (e.g., gas, asbestos or other chemical substance), naturals (e.g., pets), real estate (e.g., house or land) and writings (e.g., navigation charts).

A lot of people know that the manufacturer would be held liable for damages and injuries caused by a defective product. But, most people don’t know that sellers of the product (including everyone between the manufacturer and reseller, such as wholesalers and distributors) may also be liable for the damages even if they didn’t know of or cause the defect.